A new free-to-play online Pokémon trading card game is coming to PC
But you won't actually be able to trade cards
There's been a Pokémon card game on PC for years now which, I suspect, will come as news to some of us who were always more into the Pokémon RPGs. You TCG fans will want to know that the newly-announced Pokémon Trading Card Game Live will be replacing the current Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. Pokémon TCG Live is coming with upgrades like a ranked ladder, 3D avatars, and battle passes. It will also remove some major features such as in-game chat and—crucially—card trading. You can catch the announcement and the details here in the reveal trailer for Pokémon TCG Live.
"As the Pokémon TCG Online launched over 10 years ago, Pokémon TCG Live not only provides an opportunity to update the game and underlying technology, but engage more fans by offering an easily accessible app on smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Macs," Pokémon Company say about why they're sunsetting Pokémon TCG Online. "Pokémon TCG Live also comes with a suite of improvements, including a new card logic engine that provides more player feedback around gameplay events, as well as a Ranked Ladder, Battle Pass, duplicate card protection with Credits, 3D avatars, updated visual effects, and more fluid gameplay."
You can catch the new avatars and snazzy visual effects down here in the announcement trailer.
It's not quite all buffs and sunshine though. Some features are being discontinued in the move from Online to Live. Pokémon TCG Live will ditch the in-game chat function, for one. Importantly, it also won't have the "T" in TCG. According to the game's FAQ page, you can't trade cards with other players as in Pokémon TCG Online.
On the bright side, there will be an open beta available for PC and Mac players later this year prior to launch. The Pokémon Company haven't shared exact dates for that beta, or when Pokémon TCG Online will be shut down just yet. More info on both are expected later.
If you're already invested in PTCGO, you can catch the details on which in-game items will transfer to TCG Live, over here.