Cozy Comfy Multiplayer: A Deeper Look At Upcoming Cozy MMO, Palia

Welcome back to another week of Cozy Comfy Multiplayer! This week we will finally be talking about an MMO! I know, crazy! Anyway, this week we will be talking about Singularity 6’s upcoming cozy, community-driven MMO, Palia. Singularity 6 is a newer studio based in LA with several veterans from other well-known studios like Blizzard, Riot, and Epic Games. The game first began its development back in 2018, and now, nearing the end of 2022 has already had two Alpha Playtests that were more than successful.

I was actually lucky enough to be in the second Alpha, but sadly because of the strict NDA, there is not much I can share. Thankfully, the game’s Discord is filled with information directly from the team as their focus on community building and open communication is an important aspect of the team’s philosophy as they build Palia.

What’s Palia About?

Palia is a massively-multiplayer community game set in a high fantasy world with open-world adventure game elements. It’s a cozy and welcoming game that focuses on developing a myriad of skills, including hunting, bug catching, gardening, cooking, fishing, mining, foraging, and crafting furniture. By building these skills players will be able to build their very own comfy home and will even have the opportunity to build their own communities inside the game with their family and friends. The social and cooperative multiplayer playstyles of Palia have been created in order to provide a real sense of community and belonging not only with other NPCs, but with other players as well. While solo players will be able to enjoy and have just as much fun, the community aspect is what is a driving force in the creation of this cozy MMO.

Now, most MMOs have a lot of PvE and PvP action, and while Palia will have some combat, combat isn’t the core focus of the game, and PvP combat will most likely not be included as it is “antithetical to [the] core experiential goals.” Still, there will be some competitive play opportunities, like an afternoon card game or racing on the beach. As of now, the game is currently looking into ways around the PvE elements as well. Some players expressed concern over the hunting aspect of the game, as players must collect certain materials from the animals that inhabit Palia. After a few community members asked if they had to go about this, the team seemed to be working on a way to allow players to have the same experience and create the same items, just without having to hunt. This is still a working idea though, and nothing official has been released outside of the general discussion of ideas.

Will Palia Be Free-To-Play?

Yes! Of course, anything could change from now until its release, but Singularity 6 has a strong belief in its F2P model. “Singularity 6’s vision is to create alternate worlds that deepen players’ lives to bring people closer together. To achieve this, Palia has to be available and accessible to everyone, which means: no subscription and no upfront purchase to play. We believe this decision helps break down as many barriers as possible for people to be able to play Palia together.” The company then continues to explain its respect and understanding of players’ time, their choices, and their trust. What this means is, no core gameplay will be monetized. The main source of income that will be brought to the game will come from the cosmetic shop, but perhaps more will be added later as the company did mention: “if you can’t buy the things you earn, it also means you won’t be able to earn the things you can buy.” This means that items and clothing that take time to make, cannot be bought, and items and clothing that cost money will also not be able to be made.

When Will The Game Be Released?

That is a great question, but sadly, there is no release date as of yet. The game has already gone through two stages of Alpha play testing, and more are sure to be scheduled for the future. Those who are interested in this cozy upcoming MMO can sign up on their site to be notified of upcoming playtests, or can even join their Discord and begin to get involved in the already active community that is starting to be built.

Have a safe and wonderful rest of your week, and remember, stay cozy!