Pokemon Championship Series Overhauls Games For 2026-27 – News
One game in particular could see the News Editor team with a player he traded with this past weekend.
Although the 2026 Pokemon World Championships are still a month and a half out, we already have details on the 2027 schedule and one of the usual Elite Four games is getting bounced.
The biggest change in the program is the removal of Pokemon Unite from the circuit, with a standalone World Championship event for the MOBA to be held in Japan in March of 2027 and qualification to be announced. Unite competitors were hit particularly hard with travel restrictions for the 2025 World Championships in Anaheim, CA due to current US government policies, though this was not officially given as the reason for the removal. With this, the 2027 Worlds will run three circuits: trading card game, video game championships (VGC), and Pokemon Go.
The Go tournament at 2027 Worlds will also have a new format, as qualified players will be placed in teams of three for the tournament. The announcement does not mention if the competitors will be placed into teams based on home country or if the draw will be truly random.
Despite the recent release of Pokemon Champions on mobile platforms, the 2027 series will require competitors to play on Switch or Switch 2.
