Nintendo's Pokémon MOBA, Pokémon UNITE, is releasing tomorrow, July 21, but players can pre-download the game onto their Nintendo Switch consoles right now.
"Pre-download for #PokemonUNITE on Switch is now available," the Pokémon UNITE account tweeted. "Pre-download now and get into the action even faster this Wednesday!"
Those who want to pre-load the game can head to the product page on the Nintendo eShop and click the "Pre-Order Now" button. The site will take you to the game's free-download page from here. Its file size is listed as 928 MB, so not too hefty a download, even for those with less than great connection speeds. Pokémon UNITE is free-to-play, but does have in-game purchases for cosmetics for both trainers and pokémon.
Pokémon UNITE is a five-on-five strategic team battle game. Players head to Aeos Island to compete in UNITE battles where they vye to earn the most points within the time-limit. Teams will take on pokémon in the wild, along with opponent pokémon, while leveling up their own partner monsters.
Speaking of the titular pocket monsters, Pokémon UNITE features holographic outfits you can put your companion creatures into, with more on the way as the game's life cycle continues. These are going to be tied to Pokémon UNITE's in-game purchases.
UNITE seems to be a totally unique spin on the usual Pokémon formula. Players not only compete in five-on-five matches, they can also participate in ranked games to vye for a spot on the global leaderboard. Additionally, in this game pokémon have completely new abilities called Unite Moves, which are only available while in UNITE battles.
For folks that don't have Switches currently, no worries! Pokémon UNITE will have cross-platform play when the game comes to mobile devices this September, alongside being able to play with Switch owners from around the world.
