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While everyone and their Direhowl seems to be talking about Palworld and its similarities to Pokémon, it’s clear that – mechanically at least – it shares a lot of its DNA with other games. And while the obvious influences are survival games like Ark Survival Evolved and Rust, it’s clear there could also be an opportunity to cross over with one of the biggest games in the world: Fortnite.
While Fortnite and Palworld seems like a bit of an odd mix at first, there’s plenty of common features in both games, not least the ability to quickly and – in a relatively freeform manner – build your own structures and the like. Fortnite already has an NPC system where you can hire characters across the map to help you out in the battle royale, so it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine these characters being swapped for the likes of Hangyu or Dinossom as they help you build your base.
Weapons aren’t much of a stretch either of course – the game’s been known colloquially as ‘Pokémon with guns’ even before its full reveal at last year’s Summer Game Fest. Over on the Palworld subreddit, a number of players are even showing off their battle-royale worthy trick shots – even if the mechanics are still a little ropey (understandable while it’s still in early access of course.) It’d be a fun crossover, though balancing would have to be taken into account. That being said, there’s a cool possibility with Pals potentially inferring bonuses, not unlike the currently-MIA augments feature that took off in Fortnite’s Chapter 4.
Animals aren’t a complete stranger to Fortnite either, I should point out. Fortnite pets arrived to much fanfare in Fortnite Chapter 1 Season 6, so if introducing Pals seems like it could bring an unwanted change to gameplay, maybe they’d suit as a cosmetic. There’s plenty of Palworld designs that have stolen the hearts and minds of players – Depresso already being a frontrunner – so if the furore around their similarities to Pokémon doesn’t result in any legal issues, that could be another way they could make their way in. In fact, that may work to its advantage – players have long wanted a Pokémon crossover in Fortnite, but presumably Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s aversion to have their characters near guns has been a factor in making that an impossibility for some time. A team up with Palworld could get around that nicely.
All this being said, the idea of Palworld and Fortnite together is of course a bit of hypothetical fun – but what is real is that Fortnite has already very recently added something that is a little more in Palworld’s wheelhouse. And that of course, is Lego Fortnite. It’s more of a survival game – with crafting and all – than traditional Fortnite ever was and like Palworld very much already is. If Palworld were ever to cross with Fortnite, that’s the area that crossover would make the most sense. But we’d barely like to think about how much more red tape with image rights and the like introducing Lego’s lawyers into the mix as well would bring and the subsequent headaches it’d cause.
Still, it’s a nice little thought experiment – and Palworld maintains its current momentum, who knows where it could end up next? We’ll have to wait and see. For more on the game, check out our guide to Palworld – the best stats to upgrade . If Fortnite is more your thing, then here’s how to unlock Solid Snake in Fortnite Chapter 5
