Singularity 6 announced today that is working on Palia, a new MMO that is equal parts Stardew Valley and World of Warcraft. Described as a "Massively Multiplayer Community Sim," it will bring players together to revive a quaint village while working to solve an evolving mystery.
In Palia, you play as a human who wakes up in a lush world populated by elves, Iron Giant-like robots, and other fantastic creatures. Humans are treated as legendary creatures in this world, and the mystery of their disappearance is a large part of what will drive its shared narrative forward.
Palia is reminiscent of recent breakout hits like Animal Crossing, which built a legion of fans with their wholesome worlds and deep mechanics. It will feature all of the elements you expect, including hunting, bug-catching, and yes, romance options (all of the romanceable characters in Palia can be dated by any gender). Homes will be fully customizable and will feature more than 1,000 items at launch.
Palia is being developed by a collective of former developers from Blizzard, Epic, Riot, Zynga, and Sony, and it shows in the overall aesthetic, which can't help bringing to mind World of Warcraft and Fortnite. Last month we reported on the large number of departures from Blizzard, noting that the industry is currently awash in venture capital. Singularity 6, which was able to raise $16.5 million in 2019 and currently sits at around 50 developers, is on the leading edge of that trend.
True to its roots, Palia will be online-only, which may dismay the hermits who want to build their fantasy worlds on their own. Its world is being built in part around "Neighborhoods," Palia's version of Guilds, which will allow players to collaborate in building up their communities. Collaborative activities can earn unique rewards, such as a First Place trophy or unique community skins.
As for those who would rather go solo, director Aidan Karabaich says that Singularity 6 is "absolutely focused" on players who don't want to have what he characterizes as intense social interactions. Solo players who don't want to collaborate on a village will be able to create their own settlement.
"There are a lot of safety features and a lot of options that the player has that can make the experience overall be a bit more solo," Karabaich says. "You can occasionally have interactions with other players where they help you out in a collaborative way organically without ever directly chatting or voice chatting. So it's very much in the kind of vein of playing with other players, but not directly or fully collaborating."
Singularity 6 is clearly hoping to ride a handful of popular trends in developing Palia, specifically the focus on online service games and the rise of sims like Animal Crossing. It's also leaning heavily on the stylized fantasy that has proven so successful over the years for Blizzard, Riot, and Epic. Other features include a dynamic weather system, body customization, cooking, and fashion — just the sort of features that simulation fans demand.
Palia will be initially launching on PC, with additional platforms as time and resources allow. A final price and release date has not yet been set, but Singularity 6 is planning a Pre-Alpha for later this summer.