Pokémon’s attempt at a MOBA is shutting down after just five years of service, the company announced today.
Pokémon UNITE launched in July 2021, available on both mobile and Nintendo Switch, and I genuinely enjoyed playing it at first. But a miserable solo ranked experience quickly turned me away, and it appears the game has stopped being profitable several years later.
The concept of the game was simple enough to attract casual players while iterating on the MOBA genre. You chose to play as a number of different Pokémon and could level up and evolve throughout a match, scoring points at various goals throughout the arena to defeat the opposing team.
“We offer our sincerest gratitude to the many Trainers who have played since service started for the Nintendo Switch version on July 21, 2021,” the announcement read. “We would like to express our thanks to everyone by holding a special event until service ends. The Pokémon UNITE Aeos Crown 2027 Tokyo competitive tournament (an event for Pokémon UNITE only) will also be held as previously announced. We hope you continue to enjoy Pokémon UNITE until the final day of service.”
That tournament takes place just two days before the game will shut down, leaving the winner with an actual physical crown and title for a game that will soon no longer exist. A wonderful collector’s item, I suppose?
The main issues that many players had with the game over the years were its pay-to-win monetization, like consistent releases of new Pokémon that felt powerful and must-buy to keep up with the meta. The matchmaking in ranked felt like an active punishment every time I opened up the game, so I quickly moved on to other things.
The concept of Pokémon UNITE was great, but its execution left a lot to be desired. The announcement by the game’s Japanese account was met with massive engagement, with over 58,000 reposts on Twitter/X alone, so the brand recognition and dedicated fanbase were there. Apparently, the revenue or overall player numbers were not.
