As Palworld prepares for its full 1.0 release on July 10, developer Pocketpair has issued a strong recommendation for players to completely remove any existing mods. The studio cautions that old mod data, particularly from early 2024, can cause significant issues with the upcoming major update.
Pocketpair stated that while they support the modding community and anticipate new creations following the 1.0 launch, lingering old mod files pose a risk. The upcoming update introduces substantial changes to the game's underlying systems. According to the developer, players who have older mods installed may experience problems including game crashes upon launching or playing, save data corruption, or the inability to load existing saves. Quests and in-game events could also become unprogressable.
The issue extends beyond simply disabling mods. Even when mods are turned off, their associated data and loaders might still be active when the game starts, potentially leading to conflicts. To ensure a smooth transition to the 1.0 version, Pocketpair advises a thorough manual deletion of all relevant mod files. This process involves backing up save data, deleting specific game folders such as Pal\Binaries\Win64 and Pal\Content\Paks, and then verifying the game files through Steam. Players subscribed to mods via Steam Workshop will also need to unsubscribe and manually remove that data.
Pocketpair also recommends refraining from reinstalling any mods until their creators have confirmed compatibility with the 1.0 version. They suggest applying updated mods one at a time to confirm functionality. The studio also noted that any issues arising from the use of mods or modified game data will not be covered by their support services.