Pokémon Unite to shut down in March 2027
The multiplayer battle arena game Pokémon Unite will end service on March 23, 2027. Gem sales and new subscriptions have already been halted.
The Pokémon Company has announced that its online game Pokémon Unite will be shut down on March 23, 2027, at 00:00 UTC, which is 8 p.m. Eastern Time on March 22. The title is a five-on-five battle arena game in the style of League of Legends. The closure affects players on both console and mobile devices.
About the game
The game launched on Nintendo Switch in July 2021 and arrived on mobile a few months later. The two platforms shared cross-platform play. At the start of each match, a player picks one Pokémon, which evolves and learns new abilities as the match goes on. It was built by TiMi Studios, which is owned by Tencent, and it is free to play, with revenue coming from battle passes, cosmetic items and gems.
What changes now
Sales of gems have stopped, and new Unite Club memberships and automatic renewals are no longer available. Gems that have already been bought will remain usable until the shutdown, and current Club members keep their perks until their memberships expire.
A final update on November 12 will add a special farewell event. The game will also gain a new Library feature, which lets players keep viewing some of their in-game items after the service ends. To use it, players must log in before the shutdown and download the Library data. Because it is stored on the device, it generally cannot be moved to a new one, according to The Pokémon Company.
Related tournament
In July, the company said the game would not be part of the 2027 Pokémon World Championships and would instead have a separate tournament in Tokyo. That event is still planned, with qualifier tournaments starting in December.
