Sekhmet wins Palworld’s fan poll as Side by Side gets a winter window
The global and English-language rankings differ, while Pocketpair’s next update still has no detailed feature list.
Sekhmet has won Palworld’s 2026 global popularity poll, ahead of Solenne and Chillet. Pocketpair paired the results with a more consequential announcement for anyone deciding when to return to the game: an update called Side by Side is planned for winter 2026. The vote tells us which creatures players wanted to celebrate. It does not yet tell us what the update will let them do.
The official results site records 49,637 votes for Sekhmet, 37,425 for Solenne and 34,625 for Chillet. Those totals are useful because they put a measurable gap behind the winner rather than leaving “fan favorite” as a promotional label. They also require a little care: voters could choose up to three Pals, so these are selections, not a headcount of people who exclusively preferred one creature.
A popularity contest, with a revealing regional wrinkle
There is a difference between a favorite companion and the best tool for a particular task. A player can choose a Pal because of its design, its usefulness, a memorable encounter or its place in a long-running save. This ballot does not separate those motivations. Using it as a combat tier list would ask the results to answer a question the poll never posed.
The language breakdown illustrates another limit. In the English-language results, Chillet moves ahead of Solenne while Sekhmet remains first. The global podium therefore is not a universal ordering shared by every part of the audience. Nor should language be treated as nationality: an English-language ballot does not establish where its voter lives.
That still leaves a worthwhile result. A voluntary fan poll captures enthusiasm from people sufficiently invested to take part, and its named rankings offer a concrete picture of that enthusiasm. The sensible interpretation is narrower than “everyone agrees,” but more informative than treating all community preferences as unknowable.
Side by Side has a window, not a feature list
Pocketpair’s October 20 announcement places Side by Side in winter 2026. Its promotional image supplies a name, silhouettes and that seasonal window. It does not supply a detailed feature list or an exact release day.
The temptation is to read the title as a promise about cooperative systems. The title alone cannot support that conclusion. Equally, the poll’s timing does not establish that its winning Pals will receive new abilities, special treatment or a starring role in the update. These are separate pieces of news until Pocketpair explicitly connects them.
For an existing player, that makes the results a reason to revisit a favorite part of the roster, while the update remains something to evaluate when its actual changes are announced. For a prospective buyer, a seasonal teaser is a poor substitute for deciding whether the game’s present systems appeal. Our gaming coverage keeps that distinction between announced plans and playable changes central.
The useful question for Side by Side is therefore not whether its name sounds promising. It is what new reasons it will give players to spend time with these creatures. Sekhmet has already won the popularity contest; the update still has to make its own case.
