Palia is one of the number of life simulation titles available on the market today, and it’s seen its fair share of success. Since its initial open beta release in 2023, Palia has amassed millions of players and is seeing its player count spike to even greater levels in the wake of the release of the Elderwood Expansion. This title should also continue to see plenty of success, as developer Singularity 6 has done a good job expanding it to multiple platforms with a Nintendo Switch release in late 2023 and a recent release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Naturally, Singularity 6 will want to keep Palia going strong with more content, as it has demonstrated with the recent release of its first-ever developer roadmap video. Titled “Palia Path,” the developer’s first proper roadmap details new features and content coming within the game’s latest patch, Version 0.912, along with some new content that’s a bit further out. During the Palia Path, the developer also revealed one piece of content that calls back to a forgotten Sony MMO in a very surprising way.
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Palia Calls Back To A Long-Forgotten MMO Game
Palia Brings Back A Character From Sony’s Free Realms MMO
As part of the latest development roadmap for Palia, developer Singularity 6 revealed that, among several new features arriving in the near and distant future, the game will receive a set of new plushies, which are items that players can use to decorate their houses. In a very small moment during the roadmap, director of production Maxwell revealed that one of the plushies would be of “a familiar face.” That face would inevitably end up being Chatty, the mascot of a previously canceled Sony MMO called Free Realms. Until July 3, Palia fans can earn the Chatty plush (among other rewards) as a Twitch drop by watching participating Palia streams.
This feels like a noticeable deep cut to include as the game’s first proper “crossover,” as Free Realms is an MMO that has seemingly been long forgotten over the last decade. Free Realms was originally released on PC in 2009, Mac in 2010, and finally on the PlayStation 3 in 2011. Developed by Sony Online Entertainment – now known as Daybreak Game Company – it was a family-friendly, free-to-play MMO title set in a fantasy world with leveling restrictions that also featured a paid membership and microtransactions for some of its content.
Free Realms Closed In 2014, But Lives On In Palia
Sadly, despite seeing as many as 10 million players by the end of its first year, Free Realms did not have a very long shelf life. The title saw its servers shut down in March 2014, alongside three other Sony MMOs in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, and Wizardry Online. At the time, Sony had stated that the closure was to establish a focus on other games and to put resources into other projects, while then-president of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley noted that it was hard to run a game designed for children that also expected them to spend a disposable income that they don’t have.
Like many titles that bear the “dead MMO” label, Free Realms maintains a spark of life thanks to private servers. Community projects like Free Realms Sunrise (FRS) and Open Source Free Realms (OSFR) have done everything in their power to keep the game alive and have maintained a solid cult following on their own with tens of thousands of players. Palia has also seen its fair share of comparisons to Free Realms over the years, which could be one reason why the developers have chosen to add Chatty to the game as a plush.
This feels like a noticeable deep cut to include as the game’s first proper “crossover,” as Free Realms is an MMO that has seemingly been long forgotten over the last decade.
Palia’s Developer Is Owned By The Former Free Realms Team
Some recent news can also help explain why Chatty is coming to Palia, as developer Singularity 6 was acquired by Daybreak Game Company, the team formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, in July of last year. This means that Palia is now in the hands of the same team that created a title that it has seemingly taken much inspiration from. Considering the already-existing comparisons between the two, it seems like now is the best time for Singularity 6 to create some kind of crossover with Sony’s forgotten MMO title.
Sure, adding Chatty to Palia might not totally make up for the loss of Free Realms over a decade ago, but it’s nice to see that Singularity 6 is still remembering this old game within its latest MMO title. What’s more, while this may not lead to a proper revival of Free Realms, the addition of Chatty in some form does indicate that Palia may continue to add crossover elements with Sony’s former MMO in the future. Here’s hoping Chatty’s appearance in the game is just one of several Free Realms references to come in Palia’s future.
Palia
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco
- Developer(s)
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Singularity 6, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
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Singularity 6, Inc.
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4