Pocketpair Calls Palfarm the Only 'True' Palworld Spin-Off as More Projects Take Shape

Pocketpair's plans for the Palworld universe are growing beyond the original survival game, but the studio is drawing an unusually careful distinction over what should and should not be called a spin-off. While several projects using Palworld's creature-filled setting are known to be in development, Pocketpair head of communications and publishing John "Bucky" Buckley has said he considers only Palfarm to be a proper, "true" spin-off.

The comments came during a discussion on the official Palworld Discord server, where Buckley addressed the studio's expanding slate. The projects currently known include Palfarm, a farming-focused game built around Pals; More Than Just Pals, the tongue-in-cheek dating sim announced earlier; and a Palworld MMO. Although all three draw on the wider Palworld brand, Buckley's view is that they do not all serve the same role in the franchise.

That means fans expecting Pocketpair to describe every new Palworld-related release as an equally substantial continuation of the original may need to adjust their expectations. The studio appears to see Palfarm as the closest thematic relative to the survival game, while treating the dating sim as something much more playful and standalone in spirit.

Palfarm is closest to the original game's identity

Buckley explained that, in his view, players generally think of a spin-off as a game that remains broadly aligned with its parent title while introducing a major new hook. Under that definition, Palfarm is the clearest fit. It keeps the central idea of living and working alongside Pals, but shifts the focus toward farming-simulation activities rather than the original game's survival-oriented structure.

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That framing makes intuitive sense from a design perspective. Palworld's creatures are already tied closely to labor, resource gathering, base management, and daily routines. A farming game can take those existing ideas and make them the centerpiece. Rather than simply borrowing the Palworld name and monster designs, Palfarm seems positioned to explore one of the original game's foundational systems in a different genre format.

It also gives Pocketpair a way to address an audience that may enjoy Palworld's creature-collection and work-management elements without necessarily wanting the same survival-game loop. Farming simulations are often built around steady progression, customization, relationships with a world and its inhabitants, and long-term routine. Pals naturally have a place in that kind of structure, at least based on what the project's premise suggests.

For Buckley, that shared thematic groundwork is apparently what separates Palfarm from the studio's other experiments. It is not merely a Palworld-branded game in another genre; it is being treated as a new expression of the same central concept.

More Than Just Pals is being positioned as a joke with real production behind it

The same cannot be said, in Buckley's terminology, for More Than Just Pals. The dating sim has become one of the stranger announcements connected to Palworld, leaning into the absurdity of players potentially forming romantic relationships with the franchise's colorful creatures. Buckley characterized it as "just a little goofy thing," a description that reinforces the sense that Pocketpair sees it as a deliberately unserious side project rather than a major branch of Palworld's future.

That does not necessarily mean the game lacks ambition or polish. Its initial trailer and Steam presence indicate that it is a real product rather than a passing social-media gag. Still, the studio's messaging suggests players should not read its existence as evidence that Palworld is shifting wholesale toward dating games, nor should they necessarily measure it against the scale of Palfarm or the original game.

There is an important difference between a project being comedic and a project being disposable. The dating sim's entire appeal rests on the collision of its premise and Palworld's established creature designs. It is an exaggerated extension of a fan joke, but it is also a way for Pocketpair to test how flexible the setting can be when it is allowed to become openly bizarre.

That type of experiment can be valuable for a rapidly expanding game brand. It creates conversation, gives the community a surprising new angle on familiar characters, and lets a developer make something that would not fit comfortably inside the main game. Whether players regard it as a spin-off may ultimately matter less than whether it lands as an entertaining novelty.

An MMO is also in development, but reports of four spin-offs are inaccurate

Buckley also pushed back on the idea that Pocketpair has four spin-offs underway. He stated that there are not four such projects in development. Based on the currently known lineup, there are three Palworld-related projects outside ongoing work on the base game: Palfarm, More Than Just Pals, and the MMO.

The MMO is perhaps the least defined of the announced efforts in terms of publicly available details, but its existence signals Pocketpair's interest in taking Palworld into a more persistent multiplayer direction. That could be a substantial undertaking, particularly because online games require a different kind of long-term support than a conventional survival release or a smaller genre experiment.

At the same time, Buckley's comments make clear that fans should not assume the MMO, Palfarm, and More Than Just Pals are all comparable projects. They may share creature designs, branding, and connections to the same fictional universe, but their intended scale, tone, and relationship to the original can differ significantly.

Pocketpair has also indicated that it has further plans to expand Palworld beyond the projects already announced. That leaves room for additional games, collaborations, or other forms of franchise development, though no extra projects were specified in these comments.

What counts as a spin-off is ultimately a matter of definition

The debate itself is partly semantic. In a broad entertainment sense, a spin-off is often understood as any work that branches out from an established property, character set, or setting. By that definition, Palfarm, More Than Just Pals, and the MMO could all reasonably be called Palworld spin-offs because each builds from the existing franchise.

Buckley is using a narrower definition. His distinction is based on thematic continuity: Palfarm resembles the main game in core ideas, whereas the dating sim is so far removed in tone and genre that he does not see it as a conventional successor or companion piece. The MMO may occupy another category altogether, depending on how much of Palworld's original survival and management identity carries over.

Neither interpretation is inherently wrong. Franchises have long used spin-offs to cover wildly different kinds of projects. Some retain most of the parent game's identity while changing one central mechanic. Others pivot entirely into racing, puzzle games, party games, role-playing games, or genres that barely resemble their origins. Players are likely to use whichever label best communicates what a project is, rather than adhering to an internal taxonomy.

What is clearer is that Pocketpair does not want every Palworld-related announcement to create the expectation of a full-scale sequel-like experience. Calling Palfarm the "true" spin-off tells audiences it is the project most closely tied to Palworld's existing formula. Calling More Than Just Pals a goofy side effort sets a very different expectation before players even see more of it.

Palworld's future is broader than one genre

For now, Pocketpair is continuing to support the main Palworld experience while developing games that approach its universe from sharply different directions. Palfarm offers the most direct evolution of the Pals-at-work concept. More Than Just Pals embraces a knowingly strange dating-sim premise. The MMO points toward larger-scale online possibilities.

That is a notably broad spread for a property still defined first and foremost by its survival-game origins. It also reflects Pocketpair's willingness to let the franchise be funny, experimental, and somewhat unpredictable instead of restricting it to one format.

Fans may disagree with the studio's use of the word "spin-off," but the practical takeaway is straightforward: there are three known Palworld-related projects beyond the continuing base game, and each is aiming for a distinctly different audience and tone. Of those, Pocketpair currently sees Palfarm as the one most directly carrying Palworld's identity forward.