Pokemon Unite – The new “Free-to-Start” game is making waves

In the last few days, Pokemon has made a number of exciting announcements about new games and new content. One of these announcements was Pokemon Unite. There is already a number of different formats in the Pokemon universe – we’ve even seen games where we could play AS Pokemon before.

Well, that will be the case here as well, but it’ll be presented in a so-far unique way. Pokemon Unite will be a Pokemon MOBA game – in other words, it’ll have a similar format as League of Legends. While it likely won’t end up being an esports game per se, it’ll be presented in a similar way.

© Pokémon

Pokemon Unite divides fans

While it’s no secret that MOBA games can be quite popular, opinions on the new Pokemon release are divided at best. The partnership with Tencent alone did not sit well with many fans – the company has an extensive history of censorship, surveillance and violation of data protection rights. Mainly active in China, the company is known to relay user identities of their services to the police, among other things.

That’s not the only reason fans aren’t too happy though – Pokemon Unite will drop one of the most popular elements of the franchise; Pokemon type advantages. Even the fact that it’s a Pokemon MOBA didn’t sit well with everybody: Especially in Asia, where the genre is extremely popular, many feel that the market is saturated.

The announcement video managed to net more dislikes than likes, with Youtube actively deleting dislikes to somewhat equalize the ratio. Ofcourse, this practice is not new since YT did this same procedure when Diablo Immortal was announced. Additionally, players seem to have a bone to pick about “Free to start” and what that means.

https://youtu.be/dgWeEGBbJDQ

Free to play – or is it?

The game itself will be free to play, but it has already been confirmed that there will be microtransactions. Whether those will be for cosmetics or if it will be pay to win remains unclear – what we do know is that the Pokemon that will be featured in the game are mostly from the very first season, so don’t expect any new monsters there. As far we know that mons like Charizard, Snorlax, Pikachu, Lucario, Clefable, Venusaur, Gengar, Blastoise, Talonflame and Machamp will feature in the game, though there will likely be more, still.

All of this will be in a mobile format – Pokemon Unite will be available in both for mobile phones and on the Switch. Cross-play has been announced, so at the very least, you’ll be able to play with your friends, regardless of the device they are using.

This still didn’t quite console the fans that were hoping for a different announcement altogether – a remake of the games set in the Sinnoh region. With preciously little to go on as for details on Pokemon Unite, there is still a chance that the game can turn fan opinions in its favor. Many are skeptical that Pokemon Unite will manage to deliver on a ‘true’ Pokemon experience however.

Fans seemed far more excited for another recent reveal – a remake of Pokemon Snap, a game where players snap photos of Pokemon in their natural habitats. While not much has been announced, fans are already excited for Snap – Pokemon unite has some catching up to do!

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