Can you do the New Zealand trick to play Palworld early?

Palworld is one of the first major releases of 2024, and prospective players are looking for any opportunity to get into the game early. Since Palworld is on Xbox, some people have been trying the classic New Zealand trick to get early access.

If you’re unfamiliar with the New Zealand trick, it’s a simple way to play games the day before they officially release on Xbox. It’s a hugely popular exploit for games on Xbox Game Pass like Palworld.

Palworld New Zealand Trick explained

Related: Is Palworld Steam Deck compatible? Answered

All you have to do to get early access to some games is change your Xbox console’s region to New Zealand and then restart the system. After rebooting, you’ll be able to launch the game after it releases in New Zealand, which is nearly 24 hours before the official release. Unlike games on PlayStation, you don’t need to purchase the game in the New Zealand store for this trick to work. All you have to do is change your region, which is why this trick is so popular.

Does the New Zealand Trick work for Palworld?

Unfortunately, the New Zealand trick does not work with Palworld. The game has a simultaneous global release, and games with that release pattern are never compatible with the New Zealand trick. The game will unlock at the same time in every region, so even if you do switch your Xbox’s location to New Zealand, you won’t be able to get in before anyone else.

Palworld will officially launch on Friday, January 19, at 12 am PT/3 am ET on both PC and Xbox, so you won’t be able to play the game before then. To prepare for launch, Xbox players can preload the game so they can be ready to go as soon as the game drops. There’s no preload available on Steam or PC, however, so PC players will have to wait until the game releases before they can download it. Thankfully, Palworld’s file size isn’t that large so the download shouldn’t take too long.