The Pokemon Card Game Comes To Mobile And PC For Free

It’s happening: The Pokémon Company is finally giving the world an easy way to play the Pokémon trading card game digitally, online and on your smartphone. Announced today, the new app is called Pokémon TCG Live and it couldn’t come at a better time with the Pokémon card game exploding in popularity once again.

Now I know what you are thinking, “Wasn’t there already a Pokémon TCG app? And yes, there is. This is called the Pokémon TCG Online application and it lets you collect cards and fight people online, but it’s old, a mess and was only supported on web browsers and tablets. Pokémon TCG Live is now set to replace it, bringing a digital version of the card game to smartphones in an “updated digital format.”

In addition to deckbuilding and online battles, TCG live will also include customizable avatars, daily quests, and other free live service items like battle passes. Mostly, like the original TCG online app, players will still be able to upload the cards they get from the actual boosters to their digital collection. The Pokémon Company doesn’t specifically mention microtransactions in today’s announcement, so we’ll have to wait and see exactly how the in-game economy shakes up, but for now it looks like you can earn some new cards and avatar accessories without spending money. .

Today’s news comes as the trading card game celebrates his 25th birthday and is in some ways more popular than ever. While the 2021 Pokémon World Championships have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, recent years have seen new people flock to the venues like the prices of the rarest cards are skyrocketing and packs for new sets fly off store shelves.

One of the good things about an app, of course, is that people can enjoy the card game without ever having to get involved in the messy frenzy around buying physical card packs and playing. speculation. TCG online served a similar purpose, but was often a last resort for many given its clunky interface and lack of mobile availability. I have tried it several times. I wanted it to be awesome. It was not. With a bit of luck TCG live does it well.

TCG online will be the sunset just before TCG liveofficial launch of. The new app is slated for a soft launch in Canada and a global beta later this year, but does not yet have a final release date. The first players will have a chance to transfer more of their business to the latter when he goes out, a complete FAQ on The Pokémon Company website.

Hopefully in the meantime he finds a way to get TCG Live on the Nintendo Switch. Because, I mean, come on one now.