Side by Side is officially coming this winter, but all Pocketpair has given us so far is a season, with no exact date yet. The current 1.0.5 patch is a minor one, fixing just two issues. For changes players can actually put to use, you have to look at what 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 left behind: the Aquatic Construction Kit dropped from level 66 to 23, gathering Ancient Bark now only needs Work Suitability Lv.1, and trees yield double Fiber. None of these look like much on their own, but together they have made early base building noticeably faster than it was right after the 1.0 launch.
Patch notes are dense and easy to skim past, so we have pulled the key points together in one place: what has actually been revealed about Side by Side, which parts of the material chain changed, how to staff your base, and what the popularity poll tells us. Read through it and you will have a clear picture of what to prepare before winter arrives.
Palworld Side by Side: What We Know and What We Don't
Let us start with the name. Pocketpair announced the title of the next update, Palworld: Side by Side, alongside the results of the 2026 popularity poll, confirming a winter release. That is all we got. The date is being kept tightly under wraps, and no amount of asking will speed it up, so the sensible move is to focus on what you can do right now.
What's Confirmed
Three things are certain: the name of the update, the winter release window, and the fact that it is a major update, announced alongside the version line that followed 1.0. That is the full list, so treat everything else with skepticism for now.
What's Still Unknown
Nothing has been said about how many new Pals are coming, whether there will be new regions, if the level cap is being raised, or whether Work Suitability gains new tiers. The rumors circulating online about Pal counts and new map names are pure speculation. Planning around guesses is like sailing toward an island that does not exist.
What to Stockpile Now
Do not hoard materials for an update that may not exist yet. The worthwhile move right now is getting your base's core production lines running smoothly: Fiber, Wood, and Ancient Bark are useful in every version, and since 1.0.3 they are much faster to farm. No matter how the game changes, you can never have too many basic materials, and no warehouse has ever complained about being full.
Palworld Material Chain: What the Three Changes Actually Do
With the hypothetical update out of the way, let us get back to what is live in the game right now: three changes from the 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 patch notes, all clearly documented in the official announcements.
Aquatic Construction Kit: level requirement dropped from 66 to 23. Patch 1.0.3 changed its technology unlock level from 66 to 23, cut the Ancient Technology Point cost from 4 to 1, and reduced the required materials and work. What does level 23 mean? You will hit it just by playing through the main missions, so it is practically free. In other words, you can start building on water in the mid-game instead of waiting for the endgame. Palworld base building suddenly has far more options
Ancient Bark: gathering requirement lowered to Lv.1. Patch 1.0.4 lowered the Work Suitability needed to gather Ancient Bark to Lv.1. Stable mass production used to require a dedicated team of high-level gathering Pals; now even a low-level Pal you just caught can do the job, which drops the barrier to the Ancient gear series significantly.
Fiber: double yield from trees. Patch 1.0.3 doubled the amount of Fiber dropped by trees. Fiber is the backbone of building and crafting, so doubling it effectively boosts the efficiency of every Fiber-dependent production line. Your home crafting stations no longer have to wait for materials to trickle in.
Read together, the developer's intent is straightforward: smooth out the early base-building path. Water routes are opened, gathering thresholds are lowered, and basic materials are increased.
Palworld Base Assignments: Single-Role or Multi-Role Pals
With materials sorted, there is still a workforce waiting in your base. How you schedule them determines how much of those materials actually turn into output.
Palworld base recommendations generally come down to two philosophies: one Pal juggling several jobs, or one Pal dedicated to a single task. After 1.0.4, we lean increasingly toward the latter.
Why are single roles more reliable? Multi-role Pals have a flaw: the moment you look away, they wander off to secondary tasks, and the constant switching wastes time while production lines break without warning. Single-role Pals behave predictably, so when a line stalls you can spot it immediately. Do you want a base that keeps running, or a roster of jack-of-all-trades where none of them can hold the line when it matters?
How do you read Work Suitability? The icons on a Pal's panel show which jobs it can do, and the level reflects how efficiently it works. A low level does not mean a Pal cannot do the job, only that it is slower. When assigning posts, put each Pal on the job where its level is highest, and do not let it settle for its second-best option.
How should the production lines be organized? Palworld breeding can wait. The base itself is best split into three lines: gathering (logging, mining), processing (smelting, crafting), and farming (planting, watering). Staffing each line with two or three single-role Pals is more efficient than mixing roles, and a bottleneck is just as easy to spot.
Palworld Popularity Poll: What Sekhmet's Win Really Means
That covers base management, so let us move to something lighter. The official 2026 Global Popularity Poll results were announced at the same time. Did the Pal you voted for make the list?
The top three Pals are Sekhmet, Solenne, and Chillet; the top three characters are Zoe, Auri, and Saya.
Popularity does not equal usefulness, though. A poll reflects player affection, not combat stats. Sekhmet topping the list says its design and personality are beloved, not that it is the optimal fighter. The rankings are fine as a reference, but treating them as a strength tier list goes a step too far. When you actually get to breeding and base assignments, what matters is Work Suitability and passive skills.
Third-place Chillet deserves a special mention: it can be caught early in the game, and its popularity means plenty of community guides and well-tested breeding paths. Newcomers looking for a proven route will find that starting with Chillet is the least hassle.
Palworld 1.0.5: This Patch Fixes Just Two Issues
With the excitement over, let us get back to the 1.0.5 patch in front of us. It is a pure bug-fix release with just two items: an issue where terrain, buildings, and other textures loaded at noticeably reduced resolution for some players, and an issue where map icon filters were unexpectedly turned off after the player respawned. Both were listed in the official announcement dated 2026-09-15.
Neither fix touches gameplay numbers, so your loadouts and production lines do not need reworking after 1.0.5. But do not skip the update just because it is small: the first fix affects visuals, especially in large bases where blurry buildings make everything hard to find; the second affects how you locate fast travel points and resource nodes while exploring. After updating, take a quick look at your base textures and check your map filters. Both checks take less than a minute and save you the frustration of wondering why nothing shows up on the map.
Palworld 1.0.3: Jetragon Tech Dropped to Level 70
By the way, 1.0.3 also included an easy-to-miss change: Jetragon-related technologies now unlock at level 70 instead of 79, and the materials needed for the accompanying Pal Gear were reduced as well. That effectively moves up access to the flying mount by nine levels.
Why is this worth remembering? A flying mount directly changes how efficiently you explore. Level 70 is a milestone most players reach simply by progressing through the main story, with no dedicated grinding required, so once it is unlocked you can plan your exploration routes in advance. Craft the saddle for your primary flying Pal first instead of spreading it around. The patch notes do not list exact material quantities, so defer to the in-game technology menu.
No exact date for Side by Side has been given, but preparation never waits for an official announcement: unlock the Aquatic Construction Kit at level 23, get your base's three lines organized, and have the level-70 saddle ready. When winter finally arrives, be among the prepared rather than the ones cramming at the last minute. Winter is coming. Are you ready?
Palworld FAQ
When does Side by Side release?
A: The only official window is Winter 2026; no exact date has been announced.
What changed in 1.0.5?
A: Two fixes: terrain and building textures loading at low resolution, and map icon filters turning off after respawn.
Do you still need high-level gathering Pals for Ancient Bark?
A: No. Patch 1.0.4 lowered the Work Suitability required to gather Ancient Bark to Lv.1.
What level unlocks the Aquatic Construction Kit?
A: Level 23. Patch 1.0.3 lowered it from 66, and the Ancient Technology Point cost dropped from 4 to 1.
Who won the popularity poll?
A: Sekhmet topped the Pal category, and Zoe topped the character category.
Action Checklist
- After updating, check your base building textures and map filter status first.
- Unlock the Aquatic Construction Kit in the mid-game (available at level 23).
- Organize your base into gathering, processing, and farming lines, with single-role Pals preferred.
- Craft the Jetragon saddle as soon as you hit level 70; it transforms exploration efficiency.
- Do not stockpile materials for unannounced Side by Side content; stock up on Fiber and Ancient Bark first. Base layouts and breeding routes are collected in the gghubs.com Palworld section.