Palworld's official announcement on 2026-10-20 delivered the poll results (Pal category top three: Sekhmet, Solenne, Chillet; character category top three: Zoe, Auri, Saya) and the winter 2026 window for "Palworld: Side by Side" (source: Palworld official announcement, Steam Community Announcements, 2026-10-20). The post gives no date, no content list, no new Pal names. This article separates what is confirmed from what is rumour and gives a preparation list that does not bet on guesses.
Applicable version: v1.0.5 (2026-09-15)
What the official post actually confirms
Draw the boundary first, so you do not stockpile materials for a rumour.
The three confirmed facts
The update is called "Palworld: Side by Side", it arrives in winter 2026, and the post is dated 2026-10-20 (source: official announcement). That is all three.
What is not announced
Release date, number of new Pals, new regions, new systems, balance changes — none of it is published. Anything circulating about Side by Side's contents is community speculation.
Current build
The live version is v1.0.5 (2026-09-15), a fix for terrain and structures loading at noticeably reduced texture resolution for some players (source: official v1.0.5 announcement). The 1.0 release landed 2026-07-10, so early access is over — stop reading this game through an EA lens.
What the poll results tell you
The poll is not gameplay information, but it does shape where cosmetics, events and crossovers go next.
Pal category
Sekhmet first, Solenne second, Chillet third (source: official announcement, 2026-10-20). Chillet is the veteran; Sekhmet and Solenne are the ones that got heavy discussion after 1.0.
Character category
Zoe first, Auri second, Saya third (same). Zoe is an early-game character taking first place, which tells you the veteran base is still large.
How to use the list
Do not read it as a build order. It measures popularity, not power. The useful signal is that those three are likely to receive more content, so keeping some materials earmarked for them is cheap insurance.
What to do right now on v1.0.5
Between patches, only three lines advance: base, breeding, materials.
One: fill every work suitability
Work suitability caps at level 10, and that has not changed since 1.0. Every job type in a base — mining, logging, transport, kindling, watering, planting, gathering, medicine, electricity, handiwork — needs coverage. One gap stalls a whole line.
Two: redo your Ancient Bark line
v1.0.4 dropped the work suitability required to gather Ancient Bark to Lv. 1 (source: official v1.0.4 announcement, 2026-09-07). Low-tier Pals can now gather it, which speeds up the early construction chain by a full step. If you have not reorganised since, you are leaving a patch's worth of efficiency on the table.
Three: clean up breeding stock
1.0 introduced Mutation, a low-probability breeding outcome producing stronger Pals (source: official 1.0 changelog). Patch end is the right time to consolidate: gather the passives you care about onto a few dams and be ready to breed the moment the update lands.
Base layout: how to split the work
A base is not "more Pals is better", it is "no line ever stalls".
Single-job versus multi-job
Pals with one work suitability are more efficient because they do not walk between jobs. Multi-job Pals are for the phase where you are short-handed. The test: are workers moving but output is flat? That is a multi-job Pal wandering.
Priority order
Mining, logging, transport, kindling, planting, watering, handiwork, medicine, gathering, electricity. The first four set construction speed, the middle three handle food and potions, the last three only bite in late game.
Watch the structure cap
v1.0.4 added a server setting letting admins cap structures per player (source: official v1.0.4 announcement). On a multiplayer server that directly constrains expansion plans — ask the admin for the cap before you draw up a build.
Breeding: which lines to keep for winter
Breeding is the only asset in this game that a patch cannot wipe.
Keep passives
Consolidate work passives (Artisan, Diet Lover, Workaholic) into one line and combat passives (Ferocious, Legend) into another. Do not mix them; splitting later is painful.
Keep multiple dams
Two or three dams per line, not one. Breeding is random, and a single dam that rolls a bad combination ends the line.
How Mutation triggers
Mutation is a low-probability breeding event that produces stronger Pals (source: official 1.0 changelog). The official probability is unpublished and community numbers are unreliable, so farming mutations is a volume game, not a technique.
Stockpile list
| Material | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Bark | 300+ | Base material for advanced structures |
| Chromite | 200+ | High-tier gear and spheres |
| Pal Spheres (high tier) | 100+ | You will want to catch new Pals on day one |
| Cloth and Leather | 200+ each | Gear and base furniture |
| Cake ingredients | 50 batches | Breeding fuel, still needed after the update |
(Community-standard targets, not official figures; tier-3 source)
Why these five
Ancient Bark and Chromite are shared prerequisites for all advanced building and gear, and no patch makes them obsolete. Spheres are for the first day of new Pals. Cake is breeding fuel. None of the four depreciates if the update goes a different direction.
What not to stockpile
Do not hoard anything that "looks like new-Pal material". The developers have not announced new Pals or new materials, so buying on rumour mostly produces dead inventory.
Verdict: come back now or wait
One line: come back if you want to play, do not grind levels in anticipation.
New player: start now. 1.0 has well over a hundred hours of content, with a level cap of 80 and 287 Pals in the game (source: official 1.0 changelog). Getting the basics done before the update is good timing.
Veteran (finished 1.0): come back to tidy base and breeding stock. Those two appreciate most after an update, so doing them now is front-running.
Waiting for the update: you can hold off. Side by Side has no date or content list, so wait for the official window.
FAQ
When does Side by Side release?
Winter 2026 only (source: official announcement, 2026-10-20). No date has been given; check the official channel.
What version is live?
v1.0.5, released 2026-09-15, fixing terrain and structure textures loading at low resolution (source: official v1.0.5 announcement).
Does Ancient Bark still need high work suitability?
No. Since v1.0.4, gathering Ancient Bark requires work suitability Lv. 1 (source: official v1.0.4 announcement).
Will stockpiling lose value?
Ancient Bark, Chromite, spheres and cake ingredients will not — they are universal prerequisites. Stockpiling "new Pal materials" will, because no new Pals are announced.
Action list
- Open your base and confirm all ten job types have coverage.
- Move Ancient Bark gathering to Lv. 1 suitability Pals and free up your high-tier workers.
- Separate work-passive and combat-passive breeding lines, with two or three dams each.
- Top up 300 Ancient Bark, 200 Chromite, 100 high-tier spheres.
- Wait for the official Side by Side window before buying anything speculative.
Patch notes and breeding data get updated on GameHub's guide section (gghubs.com) — a numbers version goes up when Side by Side launches.