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Pokémon TCG Pocket gave us significants updates last month, including the most important of them all: a release date for October 30. Until the software officially launches worldwide, what do we know and what can we expect in the coming weeks?
A Soft Launch... in September?
While the worldwide release is set for Wednesday, October 30, the official press release at the conclusion of the 2024 World Championship reveals that trainers in New Zealand will experience a soft launch of TCG Pocket before the global rollout. No specific date for this early access has been disclosed yet.
DeNA Corporation, the developer behind the TCG Pocket mobile app, clarified that this advance test launch aims to test server capacity in preparation for the global release.
There's speculation that the soft launch could happen in September. The Privacy Notice for TCG Pocket was last updated on September 26, 2024, which might hint that this is the date when the software will be available for public play. This policy is accessible on the application store pages: it's a legal requirement for developers.
Soft launching a mobile application is a standard practice for highly expected games; Pokémon Go was initially released in Australia and New Zealand a week prior to its global release. In addition to fixing bugs, Niantic overhauled the server infrastructure to address multiple issues that arose during this test phase. Some soft launches, like Plants vs Zombies 3, resulted in the development being entirely halted because of negative feedbacks: it's not bound to happen with the tremendous anticipation surrounding TCG Pocket.
A History of Little Communication
It’s no exaggeration to say that The Pokémon Company has been rather tight-lipped with information about TCG Pocket. This is surprising given that TCG Pocket will most likely be the only big yearly release of the whole Pokémon franchise. Here's the timeline of what we got:
- The original announcement trailer in the Pokémon Presents video back in February.
- No additional information until August.
- A demo booth, a new trailer, and some activity on Twitter during the World Championship weekend.
- Silence ever since.
The only additional information we've gathered has quietly come through application stores and official press releases. These have not been promoted by the regular website, and even the official Twitter account has remained mostly silent, with only a few posts during the World Championship weekend and little else since then.
Will there be a "teasing season"? What platforms will they use for it? If the past months are any indication, we shouldn’t expect much news until the soft launch.
What We Know So Far
For those who are just catching up (don’t worry, we still have 8 weeks ahead of us), here's the main things we know about Pokémon TCG Pocket :
- For Collectors: The first set will feature 286 cards, including 60 ☆ cards with full art and immersive rarities. There will be achievements tied to the number of cards you collect, and the app will include a binder and display board to showcase and share your collection with friends.
- For Players: Decks will consist of 20 cards, and matches will last 5 minutes. The app will include starter decks, and an auto-battle mode will be implemented, likely for solo play.
- Overall: we currently know about 68 unique cards from the first set, Genetic Apex. Considering the main evolutionary lines of Pokémon, this could account for up to 115 cards, plus all Gym Leaders, bringing the total to roughly 125 anticipated cards out of the 226 unique cards in Genetic Apex.
Meanwhile, Pokémon Zone is celebrating its first month since launch! Read the articles for more detailed information about the game and join our Discord to connect with other (future) TCG Pocket players!
View of the binder and gameplay segments from the 2nd trailer.