Palia, a ‘Massively Multiplayer Community Sim,’ Revealed by Singularity 6

Singularity 6, a small developer made up of veterans from companies like Blizzard, Epic, Sony and more, has revealed its first game. It’s called Palia, and it’s an ambitious, MMO-style experience dedicated to building a sense of community and freedom. We got a chance to talk to the developers a little ahead of the announcement, to get a little extra detail on what potential fans can expect.

The elevator pitch for Palia is that it’s a massively-multiplayer, free-form adventure that will let players take on all sorts of roles while building a community. It’s less MMORPG like a World of Warcraft, and more of a Stardew Valley-meets-Animal Crossing type of game. I also felt vibes from titles like Fantasy Life and Rune Factory. Players will engage in combat and exploration of course (if they want to), but they can also pursue other in-game occupations, and even focus on customizing their homes with all kinds of furniture and other items.

In terms of a story, Singularity 6 has a mythology built up and a plan to tell its story over a number of years supporting Palia. What we were told is that in Palia’s world, humans are a long-expired race, and the world has moved on. But as a player you’re a human appearing seemingly out of nowhere, and as you play you’ll uncover the mystery of what happened to humanity.

During the meeting we were shown art from the game, examples of players building out their homes, and a lot of the world’s colorful and bright environment. Combat was confirmed but not shown, and I was told that “progress” in a traditional sense can take on different forms depending on how you play. I also asked about the monetization model, curious if this would be a subscription-based game or something else. I was told that no decisions have been made in that arena yet, and the team is still focusing on making the game.

If you’re curious to try Palia out for yourselves, a pre-alpha testing phase is coming soon, and sign-ups for it are live on Palia’s official website. Let us know what you think about this new, upcoming game over at Prima Games’ Facebook and Twitter feeds!