The creature-collecting shooter Palworld appears headed for a collaboration with Fortnite, filling a gap that Nintendo has kept sealed for years.
Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has been signaling the possibility since January when publishing head John Buckley posted on social media inviting Epic Games to partner on a crossover. "If you ever want to put Palworld in Fortnite just reach out hehe," Buckley wrote at the time. This week, that casual ask may have found an audience. Epic Games added Palworld to its in-game survey, a tool the company uses to gauge player sentiment and test interest in potential collaborations before skins actually land in the battle royale.
Within 24 hours of that survey appearing, Buckley posted a cryptic message asking fans which Pal creatures should get cosmetic skins. He dressed the question in layers of hedging, describing it as "theoretically, hypothetically, conceptually, and spiritually" posed with "absolutely no promise of it being realized." The timing and the language, however, pointed in one clear direction.
Fortnite's track record with crossovers suggests a Palworld partnership would fit comfortably alongside existing collaborations. The battle royale has already partnered with Resident Evil, Street Fighter, God of War, and Halo. Reliable leakers are now whispering that the next season will lean heavily into gaming franchises, with Sonic, Kingdom Hearts, and Persona rumored to be joining the roster.
The timing works particularly well for Fortnite's current direction. The game has spent its latest season promoting creature-collecting mechanics through Sprites, which players capture and trade. The feature proved popular enough to boost player engagement. More recently, Epic announced plans to highlight community-created games featuring Sidekicks, the game's pet-like companions. Palworld's Pal creatures could slot naturally into either mechanic.
What makes a Palworld crossover notable is what it would represent: the continued absence of Pokemon from Fortnite. Epic Games has reportedly pursued partnerships with Nintendo in the past, particularly during Fortnite's peak years when it secured exclusives like Kratos and Master Chief. Nintendo declined those overtures, citing concerns about its characters appearing on rival platforms. That stance has held firm despite multiple opportunities, from movie tie-ins to seasonal themes that would have suited the franchise.
The irony is sharp. Palworld has faced persistent questions about how closely its designs resemble Pokemon. Pocketpair quietly modified several Pal designs after the game's 1.0 launch to distance them further from Nintendo's franchise. The studio declined to comment when asked about the changes. Meanwhile, a newly added giant whale Pal strikes some fans as directly inspired by Pokemon designs.
These redesigns appear connected to a larger legal pressure. The Pokemon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, prompting the developer to rework gameplay systems as well as creature designs. A judgment is expected later this year.
Palworld's path to this moment has been meteoric. The game left early access earlier this month after drawing more than 40 million players since its debut. Pocketpair committed to keeping the price at $29.99, calling the game's success "beyond our wildest dreams."
Author Emily Chen: "Fortnite landing a Palworld crossover would be a clean way to capitalize on the creature-collecting craze without waiting for Nintendo to change its mind, which seems increasingly unlikely."
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