Pokémon Unite is shutting down

The Pokémon Company

Another live-service game bites the dust. Pokémon Unite, a five-on-five battle arena game in the vein of League of Legends, will shut down on March 23, 2027, at 00:00 UTC (8PM ET on March 22).

The multiplayer online battle arena game launched on Switch in July 2021 and landed on mobile a few months later. It supported cross-platform play between them. Players choose a Pokémon at the start of each match, and the monsters evolve and learn new abilities as the game progresses. Apparently, that was enough for a nearly six-year run in today's live-service climate.

In July, The Pokémon Company announced that the game wouldn't be part of the 2027 Pokémon World Championships, opting instead for a separate tournament in Tokyo. That event is still scheduled, with qualifier tournaments starting in December. But in hindsight, the game's split from the main event was a clue it was on its way out.

Built by Tencent's TiMi Studios, Pokémon Unite is free to play, relying on the unholy trinity of freemium monetization: battle passes, cosmetics and gems. Gem sales stopped today, along with new Unite Club memberships and auto-renewals. Gems already purchased will work until the shutdown, and existing Club members can keep their perks until their membership expires. On November 12, a final update will add a special farewell event.

The game will add a new Library feature that lets you keep viewing some of your in-game items after the end-of-service date. However, you'll need to log in before then to download the Library data — and since it's stored on your device, it "generally cannot be transferred" to a new one, according to The Pokémon Company. But hey, at least it's something.