Pokemon Unite is The Pokemon Company's next mobile title, being a MOBA game similar in style to games like League of Legends and Smite. Though some fans weren't happy with Pokemon Unite when the game was first revealed last year, the idea of a mobile Pokemon MOBA does sound intriguing.
Now, Pokemon Unite has entered its beta testing phase in some regions, including Canada. Some players who are participating in the beta have discovered that Pokemon Unite is offering its own Battle Pass system that players can pay to unlock.
Though fans have known about Pokemon Unite for some time now, not many details have actually been revealed about the mobile title following its initial reveal. For those who may have missed this reveal, Pokemon Unite was announced in June 2020, following an online Pokemon Presentation. However, since its reveal fans have heard very little from both The Pokemon Company and developer TiMi Studios. Now, thanks to the open beta happening in Canada, fans discover a Battle Pass system that seems to give trainers cosmetics, as well as new Pokemon.
Not much has surfaced about Pokemon Unite's beta testing period, but a handful of features have managed to make their way into the wild. Undoubtedly one of the most divisive features that has come up is the Battle Pass, which will see players use real money to gradually unlock in-game rewards. The details are still a bit unclear, but it seems as though players can complete in-game missions to level up and earn cosmetics for trainers and Pokemon, as well as in-game items.
While these leaks are unconfirmed, the Battle Pass system will presumably function similarly to other systems in live-service titles, where players will have to pay the entry fee to unlock the initial rewards and gain access to the cosmetics in the pass. Interestingly, while the Battle Pass itself did not leak earlier, the ability to customize Pokemon in Pokemon Unite did leak. What's more, is that it seemed like the overall reception to that leak was positive, with many players interested in the idea of giving the Pokemon in the MOBA unique skins.
The idea of having to actively pay for those cosmetics is a bit of a turn off for those players that don't want to get too invested in Pokemon Unite. It's also important to remember that Pokemon Unite is still in its beta testing phase, so there's a chance that some of these mechanics may change before the game is officially released. Few details about Pokemon Unite have been officially revealed so far, so hopefully sometime soon fans will get a much deeper dive into this strange, Pokemon MOBA title.
Pokemon Unite is currently in development for Mobile devices and Switch.