Pokémon Champions is just around the corner – and it could be here to stay

With Pokémon Champions, fans could soon be in for something big. The PvP title will not only replace the latest mainline game as the platform for the Play! Pokémon Video Game Championships, but could also become a game that stays with us “forever” – at least if producer Masaaki Hoshino gets his way.

With Pokémon GO and Pokémon Unite, the franchise has already shown that live-service games can work well in the Pokémon universe. In an interview with GamesRadar, Hoshino spoke about the future of Pokémon Champions. In the best-case scenario, the game could exist for as long as the Pokémon franchise itself. He even speculated that one day there could be “2,000, 3,000, or even 10,000 Pokémon” that could all appear in Pokémon Champions – just not all at once.

Instead of unlocking every Pokémon permanently, the plan is to work with a rotating pool of available monsters. Fans already know this kind of model from the Pokémon TCG. That is how The Pokémon Works and Game Freak want to keep the PvP game clear and accessible despite the steadily growing number of Pokémon. For anyone who can hardly wait to fight their first battles in Pokémon Champions, the wait is almost over. The game launches on April 8, 2026 for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. A mobile version is planned as well, but it will arrive later. The game is described as “free-to-start” – meaning it will presumably be free to play, but with in-game purchases.