Overview
Singularity 6 built Palia, a multiplayer life-simulation game where players can make a home, explore and spend time together. Former Riot Games developers Anthony Leung and Aidan Karabaich founded the studio in 2018. Daybreak Game Company acquired the studio in 2024, and Palia continued to expand under its new owner. [1] [2] [3]
The studio's bet was that a persistent online game could center cooperation and everyday activities. Its transition included staff cuts before the acquisition, followed by investment in console releases. The public record does not establish one cause for the sale.
Founding Story
Leung and Karabaich wanted to make large-scale multiplayer games that brought people together. Andreessen Horowitz announced its investment in 2019, describing the founders' interest in cooperative experiences across platforms. The studio later announced Palia as its first game. [1] [2]
The concept differed from games built mainly around combat or competition. Palia gave players a shared fantasy setting for activities such as gathering, decorating and meeting characters. That made the social experience part of the product itself. [5]
Timeline
- 2018: Leung and Karabaich founded Singularity 6. [2]
- 2019: Andreessen Horowitz announced its investment in the studio. [1]
- 2021: Singularity 6 announced Palia. [2]
- 2023–24: Palia entered open beta and became available on PC and Nintendo Switch. The studio made two rounds of layoffs in 2024. [2]
- July 2, 2024: Daybreak acquired 100% of Singularity 6, according to parent company EG7. [3]
- May 2025: Palia launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S alongside its Elderwood expansion. [5]
- October 2026: Palia continued receiving updates, including the Fall's Faire release. [7]
What They Built
Palia is a shared fantasy world with player housing, quests, collecting and relationships with non-player characters. Players can explore and take part with friends. In 2025 its console release supported cross-play and cross-progression across PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. [5]
The game is a live service: its team must maintain servers, fix issues and add material after release. New content can give players reasons to return, but it also requires continuing development and support. A large audience alone does not show that those costs are covered.
Market Position
Target Customers
Palia targeted people interested in a low-pressure life simulation and shared exploration. Its free entry and cross-platform support let friends try it together without each buying a copy. The model still needed some players to buy optional items or otherwise support ongoing operations. [4] [5]
Market Size
Life simulation and online gaming have broad audiences, but a count of all game players does not establish the number who would play Palia regularly or buy cosmetics. Public sources reviewed do not disclose player-level spending or the studio's profit.
Competition
Palia competed for time with other life-simulation and social games as well as any activity friends could share online. Its specific combination was a free, persistent multiplayer world built around housing, collecting and community. Maintaining that world required regular content and operational work, unlike shipping a single finished title.
Business Model
In 2022 the studio said Palia would be free to play and monetize optional cosmetic items rather than core gameplay. Its stated goal was to remove the initial price barrier for friends. The policy describes the planned model; it does not reveal the share of players who paid or whether the game was profitable at acquisition. [4]
Traction
At acquisition, Daybreak said Palia had attracted more than four million players and over 100,000 daily active players. These are company-reported measures with different time horizons; neither is the number of paying customers. [2]
After the 2025 console release, EG7 said player counts, average revenue per user and engagement improved, and projected Palia would become a major title in its portfolio. The report did not provide the underlying Palia figures in that passage. [6]
Outcome and evolution
Singularity 6 cut 49 jobs in April 2024 and another 36 in May, according to PC Gamer. Daybreak acquired the studio in July; EG7 said it would fund remaining work for newer consoles and a wider release. The layoffs and acquisition are documented events, but the sources do not establish that either directly caused the other. [2] [3]
The 2025 console launch and later updates show Palia continued as an operating game. EG7 disclosed an initial $5 million purchase price and performance-based contingent consideration over five years, with recoupment rights. The final total and investor returns were not established. [3] [5] [7]
Key Lessons
- Design the shared activity. Palia made housing, gathering and exploration the reasons to inhabit a world together.
- Access and sustainability are separate. Free entry can help friends join, while cosmetics must support ongoing development.
- Name the measure. Total players, daily players and average spending describe different parts of a live service.
- Follow the game after the deal. Acquisition changed ownership while the studio continued development and expanded platforms.
Sources
- Andreessen Horowitz: Singularity 6, August 13, 2019.
- PC Gamer: Daybreak acquires Singularity 6, July 2, 2024.
- EG7: Q2 2024 interim report, 2024.
- Palia: Business model, February 16, 2022.
- Palia: Elderwood and console launch, May 13, 2025.
- EG7: Q2 2025 interim report, 2025.
- Palia: Fall's Faire patch notes, October 2026.