Palia (video game)

Palia is a life simulation massively multiplayer online game developed and published by Singularity 6. An open beta version was launched in late 2023 on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay
Players work to become a member of the Kilima Village by gathering and crafting materials. Player skills include Fishing, Foraging, Hunting, Mining, Insect Catching, Cooking, Furniture Making, and Gardening. Kilima is the hub area and Bahari Bay with higher leveled resources and server wide events happen based the day/night rotation.

Setting
The player characters are humans who have suddenly arrived in the world of the Majiri, and join their villages.

Development
Palia is being developed by Los Angeles-based studio Singularity 6 and was announced on June 3, 2021. An open beta for Windows was made available on August 10, 2023. A Nintendo Switch version was released on December 14, 2023. It released on digital storefront Steam on March 25, 2024.

One month after the game's release, Singularity 6 laid off 49 employees, or 35 percent of its staff. Another 36 employees (40% of the workforce) were laid off in May 2024, making this the third round of layoffs since September 2023.

Open beta
Marshall Cass for Polygon has said that Palia's success relies on its update schedule. Lauren Morton for PC Gamer said while it isn't "quite there yet", its foundation is solid. Stewart Marcus, writing for Game Informer, stated it has a strong foundation and potential. Sam Loveridge for GamesRadar+ said Palia "has everything I want" from a life sim. MMORPG.com said it has some promise but criticized the monetization. Tyler Edwards writing for Massively Overpowered stated the MMO depth and execution isn't good enough.