Pokésports Are Here: Pokémon UNITE To Appear At Pokémon World Championships 2022
If you haven’t played it already, Pokémon UNITE is a MOBA set in the Pokémon universe. The unlikely collaboration between Tencent’s TiMi Studios and Nintendo has absolutely taken off, and has already garnered a huge following on mobile and Nintendo Switch.
Though the game was reportedly not going to have an “esports focus” during development, and was intended to be a ‘strategic team battle game’ and not just another MOBA, it would seem like destiny has arrived for Pokémon UNITE all the same.
In an open letter to the UNITE fanbase, producer Masaaki Hoshino announced today that Pokémon UNITE will be joining the Pokémon World Championships in 2022 in a new competition called the Pokémon UNITE Championship Series.
…Starting this year, Pokémon UNITE teams from around the globe will have the opportunity to battle it out over a competitive season, with qualifying teams going head-to-head at our World Championships in August. We’ll have more details to share soon.
In line with the Pokémon UNITE Championship series, we’ve continued development on a new tournament mode designed to even the playing field for competitors, regardless of their held item grades. Stay tuned, as we’ll soon have more details on what Trainers can expect when this new mode launches.
Masaaki Hoshino, AN EXCITING UPDATE FROM THE POKÉMON UNITE TEAM!
This is pretty huge for Pokémon in general, and of course Pokémon UNITE. The Pokémon World Championships feature over half a million dollars in prizes, and host the world’s best competitive Pokémon TCG, Pokémon GO and Pokkén Tournament DX players from around the world. The fact that UNITE will now have a spot in London for this year’s PWC really says something about what Nintendo envisions for the game’s place in the esports world.
I don’t know any other franchises that have all of their esports spinoffs compete under one roof once a year, and I absolutely love that Nintendo is aiming to make Worlds even bigger than it’s ever been this time around. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go work on my jungling skills so I can be ready for August.
The 2022 Pokémon World Championships take place August 2022 in London, England at the ExCeL London events center.
