Pocket Monsters Enter MOBA Stage With Pokemon Unite

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GAMING | July 1, 2020

(Image Source: Rappler/Nintendo/The Pokemon Company)

The Pokémon Company officially announced on its all-digital live streaming event dubbed Pokémon Presents last June 25 (Thursday) that the world of Pokémon will soon enter the epic and action-packed world of the highly-popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game with Pokémon Unite. Slated to join the ranks of League of Legends (LoL), Arena of Valor (AoV) and the current king of mobile MOBA Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB), Pokémon Unite will allow players to recruit from a wide variety of Pokémon including favorites Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur and pitch them in five-on-five battles against players online.

Just like any other MOBA game, players need to level up to progress in the battles and learn new skills along the way as they battle towards victory with their recruited Pokémon across three lanes on the map. Renouned video gaming news and review site GameSpot reported that the environments within the game will include tall grasses that block players' vision, providing opportunities for their online opponents to ambush them, and wild Pokémon to catch along the way during battles. However, several previews of the upcoming game express that Unite will sport new elements to the MOBA formula and Pokémon fans should stay trubed for these to be detailed soon.

Pokémon Unite is being developed in coordination with Tencent and Call Of Duty Mobile developer Timi Studios. The studio that also worked on AoV expressed on its official Twitter account that the game is considered to be a "new and challenging endeavour" for the company. Although The Pokémon Company has delved into the mobile gaming scene with Pokémon Go, enlisting a gaming development studio with experience and expertise of mobile MOBA could prove to be highly beneficial. Timi's experience with mobile MOBA mechanics, the charm of the well-loved franchise and the continuing popularity of the genre are sure to be important major factors propelling the projected success of Unite.

Yet to announce its release date, Pokémon Unite will be available for Android and iOS mobile devices as well as the Nintendo Switch with cross-platform play support. It will be free-to-play but is set to sport microtransactions. The announcement of Pokémon Unite took place while Filipino gamers continue to enjoy binge-playing League of Legends: Wild Rift currently in its alpha stage.