Palworld 1.0 Server Update Guide
Last verified: September 11, 2026. This is the migration runbook for taking an Early Access server onto the 1.x line, plus the 1.0.x patch history that matters to an admin.
Current stable: v1.0.4 (September 7, 2026) · Existing save: supported · Fresh world required: no · Old mods: delete before the first 1.x launch.
Palworld 1.0 is out now: it launched July 10, 2026, marking the game's exit from Early Access. Confirmed in the official changelog: the World Tree region opens, the new floating island Sunreach joins it along with seven small islands, 72 new Pals (287 total), and the new Awakening and Mutation systems. For dedicated servers 1.0 adds in-game voice chat and improved guild roles - but not a usable Server Clustering: it's absent from the changelog and from PalWorldSettings, though the 1.0 server binary does carry cluster groundwork (details below). The full breakdown is on our Palworld 1.0 feature reference; the wipe-or-keep decision is in its own guide. This page covers how to prepare your dedicated server for the transition.
Two things worth knowing after the update: 1.0 is free for existing owners (the game stays $29.99), so every player on your server updates at no cost, and the larger map can raise memory and CPU demand. The launch-week numbers are useful context for capacity planning, but the operational checklist is evergreen: back up the world, remove incompatible mods, update the server and clients together, and verify the settings before reopening the server.
A note on specifics: the full 1.0 patch notes are now live on Steam. This guide reflects the confirmed changelog plus migration steps that are good practice for any major Palworld update. Two heads-ups: the Server Clustering feature discussed in pre-launch coverage is not usable yet - it is absent from the official changelog and there is no supported way to configure it, though the server binary carries cluster groundwork (see the dedicated-server section below) - and Pocketpair warns you must manually delete old mods before updating - disabling them is not enough, or you risk crashes and corrupted saves.
🌳 The World Tree
The long-teased region, visible but sealed since launch, finally becomes explorable - the centerpiece of the 1.0 map expansion.
🧬 Mutation & Awakening
Two new ways to strengthen Pals. Mutation gives breeding a low chance of a stronger-than-normal Pal with better passive inheritance; Awakening uses Radiant Gems gathered in the World Tree. The 1.0 rebalance also reshuffled breeding outcomes - the Palworld breeding calculator runs on the 1.0 data.
The Palworld 1.0 map: Sunreach and the World Tree
The 1.0 map is the update's headline change, and it matters to server owners beyond sightseeing. Two new regions arrived: Sunreach, a floating archipelago of sky islands held aloft by Paldium, with its own environment and civilization unlike anything on the surface, and the World Tree - visible but sealed since Early Access launch - which finally opens as the endgame region where the main story resolves and where you gather the Radiant Gems that power Awakening.
Alongside the new regions, the existing Palpagos Islands were overhauled: 72 new Pals (287 total) spread across the whole map, and wild spawn distribution changed - several Pals no longer sit at their old fixed farming spots, so pre-1.0 location guides will point your players at empty ground. There is no in-game "1.0 map reveal" needed: existing worlds keep their progress, and the new regions simply appear in the unexplored parts of the map after the update. For the recommended level of every zone and where the two new regions sit on the difficulty curve, see our 1.0 level map and zone progression guide.
For hosting, the practical takeaway is in the capacity section below: 1.0 gives players far more places to spread out, and on a busy server that can raise the number of simultaneously active areas, bases and AI entities. If your server sat near its memory ceiling before the update, Sunreach and World Tree expeditions may push it over.
Pre-update checklist for server owners
1. Back up your world (restore-tested)
Before updating, take a full copy of your server's /Saved/ directory, including Level.sav, LocalData.sav, and the Players folder - and confirm the backup actually restores, not just that it exists. A major-version update is exactly when a silent-bad backup hurts. On Supercraft's Palworld server hosting, daily backups run automatically, but take a manual one immediately before you apply 1.0 regardless of host.
2. Expect a mod-compatibility window
The Early Access exit changed engine internals, and .pak and script-based mods built against those builds did break. Pocketpair followed up on 30 July with a PC-only patch (v1.0.2.100993) specifically to improve mod-processing stability, so the situation is better than it was at launch, but they still do not guarantee third-party mod compatibility. The workflow is unchanged: boot vanilla first, then re-add mods one at a time, and only ones their author has confirmed against your current 1.0.x build, so a failed load has an obvious cause.
3. Clear old mods
Manually delete any old mod files before the first 1.x launch. Pocketpair warn that disabling them is not enough: the files are still loaded, and stale Early Access mods can corrupt a 1.0 save. This is the one prep step Pocketpair themselves publish, alongside backing up and verifying game files.
4. Size from your own load, not from map area
A bigger map does not by itself cost more memory: an area nobody is standing in is not loaded. What drives a Palworld server is concurrent players, how far apart they are, bases and active Pals, entity and AI counts, raids and mods. 1.0 also shipped optimised dedicated-server processing. So measure your existing server under your real player count rather than doubling a number, and if you were already close to the ceiling, give yourself room before reopening to a full group - our hardware requirements guide covers sizing.
Dedicated servers in 1.0: what shipped (and what didn't)
Server Clustering isn't a usable 1.0 feature yet. Pre-launch previews billed ARK-style linked servers as the marquee 1.0 dedicated-server feature, but it's absent from the official changelog and from PalWorldSettings, and Pocketpair hasn't published how to configure it. Our own inspection of the 1.0 server binary shows the groundwork did ship - it carries cluster fields (ClusterNode, ClusterGroupIndex, connection settings) - but there is no supported config path today. What your dedicated server did gain in 1.0: in-game voice chat (server-side and off by default - enable the toggle and tune the audible-distance settings in the server's world settings; not on WinGDK), improved guild roles with per-role permissions, adjusted default settings for the new PvP mode, and optimized server performance for higher player counts. For which platforms can share a server, see our Palworld crossplay guide.
Your existing config needs zero migration. We diffed the 1.0 settings template against the previous build: all 88 pre-1.0 PalWorldSettings options are intact and unchanged, so existing server configs run on 1.0 as-is. At 1.0 launch the settings surface grew by 31 keys, from 88 to 119 - voice chat, PvP kill drops, building limits and more. Later 1.0.x patches have kept adding to it (v1.0.3 added bAllowEnemyCampSpawnNearBaseCamp; v1.0.4 added a per-player building limit and a fishing-behaviour world setting), so treat 119 as the launch baseline and the generator below as the live list. All are documented in our server settings reference. To generate a 1.0-ready config with the new keys pre-filled, use the free Palworld server settings generator - or paste your existing pre-1.0 file into the 1.0 Config Migration Doctor to carry your tuned values across.
Wipe or keep? You do not need a new world. Pocketpair support continuing an existing save, and the changelog assumes it throughout: accumulated experience in existing saves is re-fitted to the new table without reducing player levels. A fresh start is a choice about the progression and story experience, not a technical requirement. Make that call with our wipe-or-keep decision guide.
What about v0.7.3 and earlier? Those saves still load. What does not carry over is narrower than it is often reported: in Random Pal Spawn Mode, spawn placement data from v0.7.3 and earlier is regenerated so the 1.0 habitat rebalance can take effect. Aquatic Construction also moved the outer boundary of Palpagos Island, and Pocketpair note that a very old save can drop a player outside it, in which case use Emergency Escape from the Options menu.
What an old world looks like after its first 1.x boot
Pocketpair deliberately reset and converted several things at 1.0. Knowing which is which stops an admin from reporting a healthy migration as save corruption.
| After loading an old save | Expected? |
|---|---|
| Bases still there | Yes |
| Pals still there | Yes |
| Player level retained | Yes. The changelog is explicit that levels are not reduced. |
| XP number looks different | Yes. Accumulated experience is re-fitted to the new table. |
| Main and sub missions appear reset | Yes, by design. Some Tower Boss and tutorial missions auto-complete from your existing boss history. |
| Random spawn layout differs | Yes, in Random Pal Spawn Mode: pre-v0.7.3 placement data is regenerated for the habitat rebalance. |
| A reliable old Pal farming spot has changed | Yes, that is the same habitat rebalance. |
| A player spawns outside the map | Known edge case on very old saves after Aquatic Construction moved the boundary. Use Emergency Escape from the Options menu. |
1.0.x server patch history
Every line below is from Pocketpair's own announcements and is filtered to what changes an admin's job. Player-side balance notes are in each patch's full notes.
| Version | Date | What it means for a server owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 10 Jul 2026 | Early Access ends. Migration, 31 new settings keys, in-game voice chat, guild roles, world and progression changes. |
| 1.0.1 | 15 Jul 2026 | The critical one: save data could be discarded after certain operations. Do not run a live world on 1.0 without it. |
| 1.0.2 | 29 Jul 2026 | Dedicated-server crash and disconnect fixes, including all players dropping during the Panthalus battle. Sunreach performance work. |
| 1.0.2.100993 | 30 Jul 2026 | PC only: mod-processing stability. |
| 1.0.2.101103 | 30 Jul 2026 | Infinite loading screen after the World Tree boss. |
| 1.0.3 | 12 Aug 2026 | New server setting bAllowEnemyCampSpawnNearBaseCamp. Dedicated-server fixes for fast travel firing during Tower Boss fights and Pals appearing to vibrate on clients. |
| 1.0.4 | 7 Sep 2026 | Per-player building limit as a server setting, new "Fish Behavior During Fishing Minigames" world setting, a server crash when sorting Pals, a voice-chat setting that would not apply, and version mismatch errors now naming the target's version. |
Players get a version mismatch after an update
Since v1.0.4 the error names the version of whatever the client is connecting to, which makes this quick to settle:
- Read both versions off the error: the client's and the target's.
- Confirm the dedicated server actually finished updating rather than reporting success on a partial SteamCMD run.
- Restart the server after the update completes; a server left running through an update still serves the old build.
- Check every client is on the same patch, including console players, who update on their own store's schedule.
- If you restored from backup, make sure you restored the save and not an older server binary alongside it.
Patch v1.0.1 (July 15, 2026) in detail
Five days after launch, Pocketpair shipped v1.0.1 (build 1.100.619, about a 240 MB download) across all platforms on the same day - no console certification lag this cycle. It is a bug-fix patch, not new content, and it fixes four things worth knowing:
- Save data loss - save data "could be unintentionally discarded after certain operations." This is the headline fix; if you held off updating a live world for stability, this is the patch that makes it safer.
- Xbox fast-travel freeze - the game could freeze for roughly 30 seconds after teleporting. Fixed.
- PlayStation save error - a repeated save error when returning to the title screen. Fixed.
- Burning status - the burning effect could continue after touching a campfire. Fixed.
None of this changes the save format, so migrations and the save converter work exactly as before. As always, update the server and all clients together and back up the world folder before patch day.
Want a managed server for the larger 1.0 world? Rent a Palworld dedicated server with Supercraft - instant setup, daily backups, and four regions - then choose whether to continue your world or start a fresh chapter.