Palworld is still in early access, but a major update just added a ton of content with new achievements

What you need to know

• Palworld is an open-world survival crafting game with creature catching and multiplayer that launched on Xbox and PC, as well as Game Pass, via the Early Access program.
• The game has previously received minor updates, one of which added an extra boss battle.
• The Sakurajima Update is now live on Xbox and PC. It brings both versions to v.0.3.1 and adds a wide range of new content.

A major update has been released for Palworld, the multiplayer open-world survival sandbox by Pocketpair that took gaming by storm earlier this year. Dubbed the Sakurajima Update, the latest patch brings both the Xbox and PC editions of the game to version 0.3.1. The update adds a variety of new content ranging from new merchants, items, weapons, and other cosmetics to a full-on battle arena where players can battle with their Pals against one another. 

Palworld is currently available for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC for $26.89 via CDKeys. The game is a Play Anywhere title, so you only need to purchase once to gain access to both platforms. It is also available as part of an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Palworld | New Pals Announcement - YouTube

Watch On

Pocketpair released patch notes for the Sakurajima Update on the official Palworld Twitter account, revealing everything players could look forward to the next time they load up the game. A whole new island named Sakurajima has been discovered on the map, with a tower controlled by the brand-new Moonflowers faction. New Pal species can be found on the island with new skills across the board, and all pals can now be dressed up with the new Pal Skins cosmetics. The "Sunglasses Cattiva" skin has been automatically rewarded to every player, with additional skins coming in the future.

Palworld players can also look forward to new UI changes and improvements. Improvements include a lock function in the Pal Box menu, item crafting in units of 100x, increased number of custom map markers, improved UI for the State of Power, and better sorting in the Pal Box.

A full list of changes made in v.0.3.1 can be found below:

Palworld Sakurajima Update v.0.3.1 patch notes

New content

New Island: Sakurajima

The island of Sakurajima is under the control of a new faction, "The Moonflowers." Discover and collect the new Pals that call Sakurajima home and free the island from the Moonflowers' control.

Arena

A battle arena has appeared in the Dessicated Desert. Players can battle against one another with their pals, available in multiplayer only.

New stronghold: Oil Rig

An oil rig controlled by the Rayne Syndicate has appeared in the ocean, and players must work together to defeat the enemies and take control of the rig to secure the crude oil and other resources.

New resource: Crude oil

You can't have an oil rig and not add in crude oil, so players can now extract crude oil as a resource to craft high-tier equipment and spheres once the oil is refined into Plasteel. 

New raid: Blazamut Ryu

Move over, Jetragon. The Blazamut Ryu is now the strongest dragon pal available in the game. Summon the beast and secure it as one of your own in this new raid.

New event: Meteorites

Goodies falling from the skies? Sure, with the new meteorite event that can happen. There may even be an unknown Pal from outer space among the loot...?

New mode: Tower boss hard mode

Each tower boss now has a hard mode.

New point of interest: Junkyards

Junkyards have cropped up around the world, offering players bold enough to explore them the potential to find valuable loot.

New event: Monster nests

Monster nests are now hidden around the island during a limited random event. Players can find and steal eggs from the nests.

New merchant: Medal Merchant

Dog coin is a new trading currency, and the medal merchant can exchange Dog Coin for rare items.

New items:

• Mysterious Accessory Box: Permanently increases the number of accessory slots by 1.
• Concentrated All-Purpose Pal Extract: Increases the rank of a Pal by 1 when used.
• Ring of Freight: Increases your carrying weight when equipped.
• Vital Remedy/Stamina Remedy/Might Remedy/Speed Remedy/Burden Remedy: Permanently strengthen the players' related base states, eliminating the need to level up before improving.

New weapons

• Laser rifle
• Flamethrower
• Gatling gun
• Grenade launcher
• Guided missile launcher
• Multi-guided missile launcher
• Meteor launcher

New player cosmetics

Dress up like your favorite NPCs or Pals!

• Zoe hat
• Axel hat
• Lily hat
• Victor hat
• Marcus hat
• Saya hat
• Lyleen floral cap
• Sibelyx hat
• Leezpunk hood
• Killamari cap
• Cawgnito hat
• Ribbuny headband
• Lamball helm
• Dumud helm
• Swee cap
• Dazzi hat
• Cattiva hat

New pal cosmetics:

• Sunglasses Cattiva

New buildings

• Cold food box: Feed your pals while keeping your food nice and cool.
• Sulfur mine
• Coal mine
• Pal disassembly conveyor: Get rid of unwanted pals without having to manually disassemble them with the knife. 
• Wall-mounted sign
• Refrigerated crusher

New feature: Lock picking

You'll need to find or craft a lock-picking tool, but you can now attempt to pick locked chests with a lock-picking minigame.

New feature: Pal skins

Customize your favorite pals with new cosmetics at the new Pal Dressing Facility. 

Player related changes

Player level cap increased to 55

• New technologies available.
• Upper limit for Pal capture bonus has been increased from 10 to 12.
• Pal Box capacity increased from 480 to 960 pals.
• Lifmunk Effigies max power increased from 10 to 12.
• Added a setting that prevents item pick up if a player will become encumbered.

Base related changes

• Base building system has been reworked and improved, with basic construction now more intuitive and smooth.
• Pillars have been added to prevent players from demolishing supporting walls and losing a second floor to collapse.
• Axis alignment has been added.
• Defensive walls can now be connected.
• It is now possible to connect from the roof, walls, stairs, and pillars to the foundation as opposed to only being able to start at the foundation and work up.
• Glass has been added as a building material.
• Maximum base level has been increased to 25, and number of bases increased from 3 to 4.
• Maximum amount of guild bases can be changed in the game options. Tread carefully, as too many bases may lead to performance issues.
• Maximum number of base pals can now be changed in the game options. Too many may cause performance issues.
• Private lock function for chests to prevent your "friends" from stealing your goodies.
• Permanently assign pals to a specific facility with the monitoring stand.
• Cakes will now be transported to chests as a priority.
• Defense facility specifications have been changed to allow work pals to use them without being assigned when under attack.
• Work priority orders adjusted for Pals.
• Mitigation for Pals getting stuck when a route can not be taken at the base.

UI Changes

• Lock function added to Pal Box menu.
• Player crosshair color can be changed and issue fixed where crosshair would get stuck behind the player.
• Can now craft items in units of 100x.
• State of Power UI improved.
• Custom map markers added, increased the placement limit to 300.
• Improved Pal Box sorting.

Pal related changes

New pal skills (Unique)

• Jumping Stinger (Menasting)
• Rocket Slam (Chillet)
• Protection of Fertility (Lyleen)
• Raging Flame Wave (Faleris)
• Thunderbolt Heavy Tank (Grizzbolt)
• Polyceraunos (Orserk)
• Divine Disaster II (Shadowbeak)

New pal skills (Neutral)

• Air Blade
• Holy Burst
• Star Mine

New pal skills (Fire)

• Flame Wall
• Volcanic Rain
• Flame Funnel

New pal skills (Water)

• Splash
• Wall Splash

New pal skills (Grass)

• Circle Vine

New pal skills (Electric)

• Thunder Rain
• TriSpark
• Thunderstorm

New pal skills (Ice)

• Icicle Line

New pal skills (Ground)

• Rockburst
• Sand Twister

New pal skills (Dragon)

• Beam Slicer
• Comet

New passive skills

• Philanthropist: Greatly reduces the time required to produce eggs
• Impatient: Reduced cooldown on active skills
• Infinite Stamina: Increased stamina (Only on mountable Pals)
• Noble: Pals with this passive will give you an advantage when trading with merchants
• Nocturnal: Pals with this passive become nocturnal and will work throughout the night

Balance adjustments

Due to the increase in accessory slots, accessories with the same name have been changed so they cannot be equipped more than once.

Defensive accessories have been rebalanced due to the increase in accessory slots.

Some pal breeding combinations have changed due to the influx of new pals.

The selling prices of all pals have been adjusted, with Alpha Pals now earning double the price of the normal pals of the same species.

Bug fixes and other changes

Mitigations have been made to prevent an issue causing PCs to freeze when the game is closed.

Changes to the grappling gun make it less likely to get stuck.

Multiple other minor bug fixes.

A warning is now displayed if GPU drivers are out of date.

Six new songs have been added to the soundtrack.

Palworld Sakurajima Update v.0.3.1 achievement update

With this massive update, fans of the Xbox achievement system are certainly going to be looking for more gamerscore to be added. The achievement community was recently in an uproar when the massive hit DLC for Elden Ring was missing achievements, but there is no such upset as Pocketpair has added 570 gamerscore to Palworld with the Sakurajima Update.

While a new bundle of achievements can work wonders to bring players back into the fold of a game, it can also backfire if those achievements feel excessive or too grindy to be worth the effort. Pocketpair may have crossed over that line for some, as some achievements for the Sakurajima update require crafting tens of thousands of units of certain items. These achievements are not retroactive, meaning players who have already met the criteria to unlock them prior to the update will have to do the task again.

The full list of achievements can be found below (⚠️Caution! May include spoilers⚠️) :

Palworld is available now on Xbox Series X|S consoles and PC via the Microsoft Store or Steam. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play Palworld on console or PC at no extra cost as part of their subscription. The Sakurajima Update is a free update for Palworld that is available now on PC and console.

Palworld (Xbox Play Anywhere) | was $30.19 now $26.89 at CDKeys

Don't miss out on the Sakurajima Update. Collect new pals, battle it out with your besties in the new Arena, and grow your base with new building mechanics. Available now on Xbox and PC.

Price check: $22.49 (Steam) | $23.99 (Xbox)