Pokémon UNITE to Close March 23, 2027, With Refunds and a Library to Preserve Player Records

A final deadline for battles, purchases and player memories

Pokémon UNITE will end service on Nintendo Switch and smartphones at 9:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time on March 23, 2027, with unused paid gems eligible for refunds afterward and a new Library feature available to preserve parts of players' collections. Players must finish downloading the Library data before that deadline or lose access to the feature after shutdown.

The Pokémon Company's October 27, 2026, service closure notice sets out several different deadlines. Gem sales and membership renewals have already stopped. Online battles will continue until March, while the standalone Pokémon UNITE Aeos Crown 2027 Tokyo tournament remains scheduled, with its finals on March 20 and 21.

The closure will come two days after the tournament ends. For ordinary players, the immediate decisions concern whether to spend their remaining gems, how to prepare for refunds and which records and items they want to retain in the Library.

The game, developed by Tencent's TiMi Studio Group, launched on Nintendo Switch on July 21, 2021, followed by smartphones in September. It allows players on the two platforms to compete together in teams of five. Players choose Pokémon that evolve and learn abilities during a match.

The Pokémon Company thanked players in its announcement:

We offer our sincerest gratitude to the many Trainers who have played since service started for the Nintendo Switch version on July 21, 2021.

The company has not given a reason for the closure. Its notices concentrate on the remaining service period, refunds, the farewell event and the records players will be able to keep.

The dates players need to know

The shutdown schedule stretches across almost five months, beginning with the end of new purchases and continuing through the final competition. All times below are Japan Standard Time.

• October 27, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.: Gem sales, new UNITE memberships and automatic membership renewals stopped. A shop sale offering discounts of up to 80% began.
• November 12, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.: An update will add the Library, a special coin exchange, missions and login bonuses.
• December 5, 2026: Qualifying tournaments for Pokémon UNITE Aeos Crown 2027 Tokyo begin, with further qualifiers following.
• March 20 and 21, 2027: The tournament finals are scheduled in Tokyo.
• March 23, 2027, at 9:00 a.m.: Service ends on both platforms. The required Library download must be complete by this time.

The shutdown time is midnight UTC on March 23, or 8:00 p.m. US Eastern Time on March 22. Players outside Japan should account for that date difference when planning their final session or Library download.

Which gems qualify for refunds?

Unused gems purchased with money will qualify for refunds after service ends. The amount eligible will depend on the paid gem balance remaining at the moment of closure, rather than the total a player has spent during the game's life.

Free gems are excluded. The company specifically includes purchase bonuses and gems supplied through membership benefits among the free gems that will receive no refund. Players can check their unused paid balance by selecting the plus symbol at the upper right of the home screen and looking at the balance shown on the gem purchase screen.

Existing gems can still be spent until March 23. Spending paid gems during the remaining months will reduce the unused paid balance available for a refund. After service ends, gems can no longer be used.

The company will publish the refund application procedure on the official website after shutdown. Applications will need to go through a form accessed from within the game so the applicant's identity can be checked. Players seeking refunds should keep the Switch software or smartphone app installed until the process is complete. Deleting it early may prevent them from applying.

Membership benefits continue until they expire

UNITE membership stopped accepting new subscribers at 2:00 p.m. on October 27, 2026. Automatic renewals ended at the same time, so existing subscriptions will no longer renew for another term.

Current members can continue using their benefits and services until their existing membership period expires. The notice therefore gives subscribers a different endpoint from the game's March shutdown: their remaining benefits last for the period already covered by their membership.

The company treats gems received as membership benefits as free gems for refund purposes. Players checking their balances should keep that category in mind, because receiving gems through a subscription does not put them in the paid gem refund category.

The farewell event brings back past items

The November 12 update will give players another way to collect previously released licenses, Holowear, trainer fashions and photo items. UNITE licenses provide access to playable Pokémon, while Holowear changes a Pokémon's appearance.

The Pokémon Company's farewell update notice describes a new UNITE coin exchange. Players will earn special coins through login bonuses and missions, then exchange them for items. A mission is completed with each win in ranked matches or the other battle modes, awarding coins as players continue competing.

The shop sale runs from October 27 until service ends, with discounts reaching 80%. Its expanded selection will include some Holowear and fashion items from past battle passes and events that had never previously been sold in the shop. The notice says shop items will also be obtainable by collecting the special exchange coins.

The new event currency follows earlier changes to the game's economy. Distribution of the former Aeos Coins ended in December 2025 as License Journeys replaced that route to unlocking Pokémon, and the old coin exchange closed by May 2026. For the farewell event, the company has specifically identified login rewards and winning missions as the ways to earn its special coins.

What the Library will preserve

The Library will retain selected records and content after online service closes. Players will be able to view acquired licenses, Holowear, trainer fashions, medals, achievements and tournament participation records. The shutdown notice also identifies battle records among the information intended for viewing.

The feature will include more than collection screens. Players will be able to customise a Library home screen using Pokémon, Holowear, trainer clothing and backgrounds they own. An option to hide parts of the interface will allow commemorative pictures of a trainer and Pokémon.

The practice area will let players examine Pokémon movements and Holowear effects. A closet will allow changes to owned trainer fashions, and trainer photo editing will retain options for combining owned frames, stickers, clothing, backgrounds, expressions and poses.

Online login and participation in battles will end on March 23. The Library's remaining activities centre on viewing collections, changing appearances, editing photos and using the practice area.

Battle items, held items and medals will be available to view, but players will no longer be able to combine medals or raise held item levels. The company recommends completing those actions before the shutdown deadline if players want the resulting state preserved.

Downloading once is essential, but devices matter too

The required Library download becomes available with the November 12 update. It will run during normal gameplay or when a player first accesses the Library. Players need to let that initial download finish before 9:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time on March 23.

Items and records acquired after the first download will automatically synchronise with the Library until service ends. Players can therefore prepare the feature in November and continue adding to their collection during the final months.

The saved Library data generally cannot be transferred when changing devices. The company also says it will provide no support for the feature after service closes. Players planning to replace a phone or other device should take those limits into account before the deadline.

Keeping the game installed also matters for the separate refund process. A player with unused paid gems may need the software to submit an application after shutdown, even if the Library download has already been completed.

A final Tokyo competition follows an Asian Games appearance

Pokémon UNITE Aeos Crown 2027 Tokyo will proceed as announced. Qualifiers begin on December 5, 2026, and the finals are scheduled for March 20 and 21, 2027. The competition is being held separately from the main Pokémon Championship Series.

Pokémon UNITE will not appear in the 2027 Championship Series or World Championships. That decision was announced in July, before the service closure notice. The Tokyo event now serves as the game's final tournament, concluding two days before online play ends.

The closure also follows the game's appearance as an official esports medal event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September 2026. That competition brought together 58 players from 10 countries, with South Korea winning bronze.

The Asian Games appearance and the Tokyo finals show how recently Pokémon UNITE has supported organised international competition. Players preparing for the remaining qualifiers can still compete on the live service, but the tournament calendar now ends immediately before the wider playing community loses access to online matches.

Earlier regional closures and a change for creators

Pokémon UNITE had already ended service in Belgium and the Netherlands in November 2025. The game included a Prize Machine mechanic through which players could use currency bought with money to obtain cosmetic items.

Those withdrawals took place amid restrictions on paid random rewards. Belgium prohibits the sale of loot boxes under its gambling law, while the Dutch government announced in July 2023 that it was pursuing a ban. No official reason was given for the two regional closures.

The October 2026 notice also addresses people who publish gameplay videos and images. The company's guidelines governing use of that material will expire after service ends. Creators whose work relies on those guidelines therefore face a change alongside the loss of online play.

The remaining months combine three practical tasks: finishing any collection goals through the farewell event, completing the Library download and retaining access to the software for any paid gem refund. Each has a different purpose, and completing one will not complete the others.

Key Points

• Pokémon UNITE closes on Switch and smartphones at 9:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time on March 23, 2027.
• Gem purchases, new memberships and automatic renewals stopped on October 27, 2026.
• Unused paid gems qualify for refunds after closure. Free gems, including membership reward gems, are excluded.
• Players seeking refunds should keep the game installed until their refund is complete.
• The November 12 update adds special coin rewards, returning items and the Library.
• The initial Library download must finish before shutdown. Its data generally cannot move to another device, and support ends with service.
• Aeos Crown qualifiers begin December 5, with Tokyo finals on March 20 and 21, 2027.