Palworld Teases Winter Update 'Side by Side' as Sekhmet Wins Global Popularity Poll

Sekhmet is officially the favorite creature in Palworld, taking the top spot in developer Pocketpair’s global community poll with 49,637 votes. Solenne finished second with 37,425 votes, while Chillet grabbed third place with 34,625. Verdash rounded out the bottom of the rankings with 1,479 votes, proving that a green bouffant isn't always enough to win over the electorate.

Alongside the voting tally, Pocketpair teased an upcoming winter update titled Palworld: Side by Side. The teaser image showed three human silhouettes, leading players to speculate that faction bosses Auri, Zoe, and Saya—the top three choices in the poll's human character category—might soon become full-time companions.

The details

• Poll winner: Sekhmet (49,637 votes)
• Top human picks: Auri, Zoe, and Saya
• Teased update: Palworld: Side by Side
• Target window: Winter

What is coming in the winter update?

Speaking about the project in August, Pocketpair head of publishing and communications John “Bucky” Buckley confirmed that the update brings a long-requested feature, even if it stays modest in scope.

“It’s exciting for us at Pocketpair because we’re doing something that people have wanted for a long time,” Buckley said. “We kind of considered it for 1.0, but it would have just pushed the release back too far... We’re doing something that’s really exciting, but it’s not big... You don’t have to restart your game to experience it.”

Buckley added that the studio picked its timing carefully to avoid competing with major late-year releases. “We didn’t want to go anywhere near the November kind of range,” he said, noting that marketing for the update will begin soon.

How do the poll results connect to the teaser?

The mystery silhouettes in the Side by Side teaser line up closely with the top three human choices from the community vote. Pocketpair previously turned Zoe into a recruitable companion following an earlier poll, giving player theories about a expanded companion system some real weight.

Why it matters

Community polls are routine engagement tools, but Pocketpair has established a habit of using community voting to shape feature development. By planning a low-friction update for winter that preserves existing save files while steering clear of dense November launch schedules, the studio is paving a low-pressure path for returning players.