Pokémon Unite Is Shutting Down in March After Almost Six Years

Pokémon Unite is ending service on March 23, 2027, on both Nintendo Switch and mobile. The Pokémon Company and TiMi Studio Group made the announcement on October 27, which means the free-to-play MOBA has about five months left (Gematsu).

"We regret to inform you that service for Pokémon UNITE will end on Tuesday, March 23, 2027, at 00:00 UTC," the official notice says. In the US, that lands on the evening of Monday, March 22.

What happens to your gems and items?

Aeos gem sales already stopped on announcement day, and so did new Unite Club memberships and auto-renewals. Any gems you already have still work until the servers go dark, and current Unite Club members keep their perks until their membership runs out (Pocket Gamer).

There's a farewell update on November 12 that adds a special event, a Unite Coin Exchange for old Holowear, licenses and Trainer fashion, and a new library feature. The library lets you look back at your records and some in-game content after shutdown, but only if you download its data before March 23 (Gematsu). Library data generally won't transfer to a new device, so whatever phone or Switch you use is where it stays.

Is there still one last tournament?

Yes. The Pokémon Unite Aeos Crown 2027 is still happening in Tokyo, with qualifiers starting December 5. The finals take place two days before the shutdown, which means whoever wins gets to keep the title forever (no pressure). Unite had already been dropped from the 2027 Pokémon World Championships, so August's Worlds in San Francisco was its last time on that stage (Pocket Gamer).

Mainland China runs on a separate version, and its servers close even earlier, on January 28, 2027 (Bulbagarden).

Why is Pokémon Unite shutting down?

The Pokémon Company didn't give a reason in its notice. Unite launched on Switch on July 21, 2021, and on iOS and Android that September, and it arrived with the biggest name in gaming behind it.

My read is that this one has been coming for a while. Dropping out of Worlds was the clearest sign, and the shift away from Aeos coins last year showed the game was being wound down slowly instead of built up. It's still a bummer, because Unite was the easiest way to get friends who would never touch League of Legends to play a real team game together.

If you still have gems saved up, spend them before March, and make sure the library data downloads on the device you care about.

More gaming news is right here.

Images are official Pokémon Unite art and screenshots from The Pokémon Company and TiMi Studio Group.