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Pokémon Unite brings its free-to-play MOBA gameplay to mobile with full cross-platform support
Too bad the game is pay-to-win
In August, we learned that Pokémon Unite would be making its way from the Nintendo Switch to Android and iOS on September 22nd, which is today. After a brief pre-load period yesterday, Unite's mobile servers are now officially live. This is a free-to-play 5v5 MOBA that offers a slick Pokémon theme, but it's also a Tencent title, and so it's packed with in-app purchases, some of which can be used to gain an advantage over non-paying players, ensuring Pokémon Unite is pay-to-win. Luckily this is a casual MOBA, so the competitive scene is nothing like Dota 2 or League of Legends, dulling the edge of the pay-to-win monetization.
Pokémon's got a new way to eat up all your free time on Android
The new Trading Card Game app's also coming to iOS, Windows, and macOS
The Pokémon Company has announced that it's officially bringing the Pokémon Trading Card Game to Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS sometime soon. This digital adaptation of the popular physical trading card game will be free-to-play, and it will go by the name Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, not to be confused with the pre-existing Android game Pokémon TCG Online, which only runs on tablets. Pokémon Trading Card Game Live is expected to enter testing in Canada on mobile devices sometime soon, with a global launch on Windows and macOS later in the year.
That Pokémon MOBA all your friends are playing on Switch lands on Android next month
Coming September 22nd
The last we heard about the mobile version of Pokémon UNITE was back in June when The Pokémon Company and TiMi Studio Group announced the MOBA would land sometime in September but failed to provide an actual date. This left both companies open to execute another announcement, which was made today during the latest Pokémon Presents. As of this morning, we now know Pokémon UNITE will be released on Android and iOS on September 22nd, and better yet, pre-registration is finally open on the Play Store, clearly illustrating the ramp-up to next month's launch.
The Official Pokémon YouTube channel has announced a new Pokémon game for Android, iOS, and the Nintendo Switch. It's called Pokémon Unite, and it's a MOBA. As you would expect, you'll be tasked with collecting Pokémon as part of the MOBA's team-based online-multiplayer battle arena gameplay. Unsurprisingly, Pokémon Unite is being developed in partnership with Tencent, so I fully expect the game to land as a blatant cash grab, just like Pokémon Café Mix. Clearly, The Pokemon Company is intent on running this franchise through the mud, just so long as it can make a quick buck with lazy clones on mobile. As expected, there is no release date, no talk of target regions, and of course, nobody's mentioned anything about monetization.
Match-3 game Pokemon Cafe Mix joins Pokémon Smile on the Play Store
Pokémon Café Mix is here, as promised
The Pokémon Company has had a busy day thanks to a recent live stream, and so a bevy of announcements are currently floating around. First and foremost, the company announced a new match-3 game that will arrive on the Play Store on June 23. It's called Pokémon Café Mix, and you'll get to prepare drinks and dishes for your customers, all by matching Pokémon icons in a simple match-3 game, and it's currently available for pre-registration. Second up is an educational game for children called Pokémon Smile, and it's designed to teach kids how to properly brush their teeth, as well as keep up the habit by collecting Pokémon. Surprisingly, Pokémon Smile is available for download right now.
Pokémon Rumble Rush hasn't even been available in the US for a year yet (since it was originally released in the West in May 2019), and The Pokémon Company has already announced that it will close the game on July 22nd, 2020. Pokémon Rumble Rush clearly had issues during development, which is why it was originally known as Pokéland back in 2017, promptly falling off the map until 2019 when it reappeared under the new name, but was still under development. Once Pokémon Rumble Rush was officially launched across the globe in May 2019, it was clear the title was released as a cash grab to soak up money before the developer completely abandoned it, which we now know will take place this July.
The Pokémon GO team has announced today that Pokémon GO will receive an update that brings new Pokémon from the Unova region (Pokémon Black and Pokémon White). This update is not live yet, though it should land sometime today. Along with these new Gen 5 Pokémon, players can expect new hatchlings, additional Pokémon for raids, and unique region-specific Pokémon for Asia, Europe, the US, as well as the Western and Eastern hemispheres. New shinies are also expected, and the Unova Stone makes its first appearance, which will allow specific Pokémon to evolve.
This morning The Pokemon Company updated the Play Store description for its digital board game Pokémon Duel to notify players that the game's service will end on October 31st, 2019. This may come to a few of you as a surprise, but with so many new mobile-oriented Pokémon games on the horizon, I suppose it's time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Back in May, we heard the first rumblings about a new Pokémon game coming to Android from the likes of DeNA, and in June it was revealed to the world that Pokémon Masters would be coming to Android this summer. Since June The Pokémon Company has been slowly trickling out new trailers to keep fans interested in the upcoming release, and as of last night, Pokémon Masters popped up on the Play Store as a pre-registration listing.
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Pokémon Rumble Rush started out as Pokéland back in 2017, but it soon fell off the map. As of this morning, the title has made a reappearance, but it will now be known as Pokemon Scramble SP in Japan and Pokémon Rumble Rush internationally. In light of this news, it would also appear that the western version has made its way to the Australian Play Store as a soft-launch release.
A recent tweet from Takashi Mochizuki points to an excerpt from a DeNA financial briefing that clearly states the publisher has teamed up with The Pokémon Company to release a smartphone game based on the Pokémon license, and it's supposedly coming by the end of the fiscal year.
Earlier this week the Pokémon TCG Card Dex app was soft launched on the Play Store in Sweden, and more territories were scheduled to open up shortly. Well, now that a few days have passed The Pokémon Company has officially announced the global release of its trading card management app. You can use this release to scan and keep track of your physical cards, and you can also browse the built-in Pokémon TCG database to formulate new plans for your competitive deck design or simply track which cards you still don't own.
Pokémon Quest was recently announced at E3 and was also released for the Nintendo Switch on the same day. The blocky design, touch-friendly UI, and casual collection gameplay signify that it's best suited as a mobile game, but alas it wasn't released for Android or iOS. Mobile users were given a tentative "June" release date. Well, I have some good news; not only is Pokémon Quest supposedly releasing on mobile on June 28th, but you can also pre-register for a release announcement on the Play Store right now.
After finally launching in Japan last week and France yesterday, racking up 50 million downloads in the process, the world's favorite augmented reality game has arrived in Hong Kong, according to the game's official Twitter and Google+ accounts.