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Palworld is coming to phones twice, and the two mobile games are easy to mix up
There is now an annoying trap hidden inside a very simple search. A licensed Palworld game really did open mobile pre-registration in South Korea this week. It just isn't Palworld Mobile. Pocketpair currently has two separate mobile adaptations in development, built by two different companies for noticeably different kinds of play.
By Kader Palworld Mobile 
The game taking Korean pre-registrations is Palworld Online, a licensed mobile MMORPG from Garena. It was revealed in August and is being prepared separately for iOS and Android.
Palworld Mobile belongs to KRAFTON's side of the franchise. PUBG STUDIOS is developing it under a licensing agreement with Pocketpair, and KRAFTON first put the game in players' hands at G-STAR 2025 before running a closed alpha in Japan and South Korea that December.
KRAFTON is rebuilding the survival game for touch
The easiest way to separate the projects is by looking at what Palworld Mobile is trying to preserve. KRAFTON still describes survival, exploration, Pal collecting, crafting and base construction as the foundation.
The adaptation work is concentrated around interaction. G-STAR demonstrations showed touch-oriented controls and aim assistance, while combat gives Pal abilities a more deliberate role alongside the player's firearms.
That is important for a game originally designed around a keyboard or controller. Moving the same number of actions onto two thumbs without turning the screen into a wall of virtual buttons is probably one of PUBG STUDIOS' harder problems.
Pals are more directly involved in combat
KRAFTON's official description keeps the player's shooting separate from Pal abilities. Creatures can provide damage, support or healing after being thrown into a fight, while the earlier alpha exposed a Player Pal Skill system intended to make combinations of Pal abilities more active.
The mobile version therefore does not appear to be a literal interface port. Its systems are being rearranged around shorter inputs and a touchscreen while retaining the strange mixture of guns, creatures and survival that defines the original.
Its multiplayer is being built as part of the mobile version
The official site describes a Plaza where players can breed and hatch Pals, along with battles against other players and cooperative encounters with major bosses.
KRAFTON also demonstrated multiplayer raid content during the first testing phase. What the company has not announced is cross-play with the existing PC and console version of Palworld.
A 2026 closed beta is confirmed, a release date is not
KRAFTON's investor materials list a Palworld Mobile Closed Beta Test for 2026. No specific month, participating regions or worldwide commercial release date has been confirmed.
The official Palworld Mobile site currently offers game information and a newsletter rather than a general public download.
Palworld Online is a different branch
Garena's Palworld Online is being built around an MMORPG structure and shared online world. Its September 3 Korean pre-registration therefore does not represent a new test or launch phase for KRAFTON's game.
For the moment, the clean rule is simple: Palworld Mobile means PUBG STUDIOS and KRAFTON; Palworld Online means Garena. Both use Pocketpair's IP. They are not two names for the same app.