Farming and community sim MMO Palia has been in open beta since August 2023 and today it's sprouting on Steam where it will continue to be free-to-play in early access. Now that the scheduled patch downtime is over, you can download Palia on Steam to either hop in for the first time or sign into your usual account. But most importantly, you'll get to redeem that enormous in-game Frogbert plush from the wishlist campaign that Singularity 6 was running.

If you're finding out about Palia for the first time, it's pretty similar to other Stardew Valley-like farming and life sims—except it's all online. You'll do all the usual farming, fishing, cooking, and romancing villagers while surrounded by other players. Instead of managing your daily energy and progressing through the seasons, you'll level up your various skills and earn money to expand and customize your own house plot for your friends to visit. Check out my quick list of Palia tips for other hints on where to get started—whether it's your first MMO or you're an old hand. 

Along with the Steam launch, Palia has released a list of update 0.17 patch notes with new features and bug fixes. The big item is a new part of Palia's story and main quest which you can find in the new Temple of the Roots. One I'm particularly excited about is the option to grow flowers around your house. When catching a bug, it may also drop a flower seed as loot which you can plant on your lot. It's a nice mix of blooms with hydrangeas, roses, tulips, and more varieties for livening up your lawn.

Lastly: the big frog. Singularity 6 had enticed players to wishlist Palia on Steam with the promise of a very large stuffed animal decor piece called Frogbert which would grow in size depending on the total number of wishlists ahead of launch. 

Though the last public count I saw was 400,000 Steam wishlists, unlocking a 4x-sized Frogbert, it sounds like Singularity 6 may have gone on ahead and given us the full 5x frog anyhow. You can redeem that big green guy by logging in within the next 30 days. Though I've not seen my Frogbert in my mailbox just yet, the promo images Singularity 6 has been using look just about house-sized to my eye. Presumably he will in fact fit inside your house, but Palia architecture is pretty darn large. As for that even more massive frog above, S6 mentions a “kaiju-sized Frogbert,” waiting for you somewhere just outside Kilima Village.

Palia is now available to download through Steam for free, though you'll need to make a Singularity 6 account to start playing. It will continue on in its open beta phase with more updates in the future.