Pokémon TCG is finally being sunset officially by Nintendo with card set development set to end from the beginning of March 2023. In an announcement earlier this week, Nintendo stated that the final expansion that will be added to TCG will be Crown Zenith as it gets ready to bring Pokémon TCG live to the masses. Live currently is undergoing testing as beta testers worldwide continue to work with game developers to ensure that it is a smooth launch with as many bugs ironed out pre-release as possible. In the FAQ that accompanied the announcement, Nintendo spoke at length about why TCG Online would no longer be updated and Live would become the de facto product for the company going forward. It assured players joining the TCG Live platform that progress would be carried over in the new title post beta even as it underlined how users could carry over progress from Online to Live citing a smooth process involving the Pokémon Trainer Club service that would allow a smooth migration. Also addressed were what could be migrated over to the Live platform and compensation that would be made available for content that would not be ported over:
Pokémon TCG Online players will NOT be able to transfer the following content to Pokémon TCG Live:
- Pokémon TCG cards from the HeartGold & SoulSilver Series
- Avatar items and unopened Avatar Collection Boxes
- Unopened products and bundles
- Certain coins, card sleeves, and deck boxes
- In-game currency, including Trainer Tokens and Event Tickets
- Friends list
- Saved deck lists (While deck lists do not automatically transfer, players can export the text of their deck lists and save it locally, and then copy that text into the Deck Editor in Pokémon TCG Live; however, please note that this process must be completed before players begin migrating from the Pokémon TCG Online to Pokémon TCG Live.)
While unopened products and bundles are not transferrable, players will receive a number of Crystals in Pokémon TCG Live that is proportionate to the number of their eligible unopened items. Crystals can be redeemed for booster packs, promo cards, and special bundles in the Pokémon TCG Live in-game shop.
Source: The Pokémon TCG Sunset FAQ
- 1 to 9 unopened items in the Pokémon TCG Online = 500 Crystals awarded in Pokémon TCG Live
- 10 to 24 unopened items = 1,100 Crystals
- 25 to 49 unopened items = 2,250 Crystals
- 50 to 124 unopened items = 4,700 Crystals
- 125+ unopened items = 12,400 Crystals
The Pokémon TCG Live’s development seems to be going about full speed even as their legal team seems to finally have made a breakthrough that allows them to bring back one of the original 151 Generation I Pokémon, Kadabra after a 20 year legal battle made his appearances a limiting factor.
Pokémon TCG Live is currently available in public beta for most territories and can be downloaded via the TCG Live site for multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Windows and Mac. The platform is expected to launch completely towards the end of 2023 and will be supported by upcoming Scarlet and Violet DLC even as the primary developer for Pokémon titles, Gamefreak has reportedly been considering focusing on other titles which could see more entrants in the market for the series that is exclusively published by Nintendo.
