Pokemon TCG Live Beta Announced

The Pokemon Company International has announced plans for a limited beta launch of their upcoming Pokemon Trading Card Game Live app. The upcoming game will launch in Canada on February 22, and will be available on iOS, Android, Windows PC, and macOS devices. The beta launch will allow players to use cards from the new "Brilliant Stars" expansion ahead of the set's release later that week. The beta will only be available to Canadian players, who can either download the new app from the Apple App Store and Google Play, or from the Pokemon.ca website. Cross-platform play will also be available, as will access to the current Pokemon TCG Online system. 

First announced last year, the Pokemon TCG Live app is a new Pokemon Trading Card Game experience that serves as a big upgrade to the Pokemon Trading Card Game's current online capabilities. Currently, fans can only use the web-based Pokemon Trading Card Game Online if they don't want to play the card game in person. However, the Pokemon TCG Live app will not only offer players a mobile option, it will also add options for Expanded play in later updates, as well as other gameplay modes and options. Given that the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online client had not received an update in years and the new app would be supported on mobile devices, excitement for the app is pretty high.

No release date has been officially announced for Pokemon TCG Live, although the beta is a good sign that a wider release is coming soon. Interestingly, The Pokemon Company billed Pokemon TCG Live as a free-to-play app with no in-game purchases in their announcement of the new app, which seems to suggest that it'll be either giving away free content or that you'll have to use the QR codes that come with every pack of Pokemon cards. 

The beta launch for the Pokemon TCG Live game starts in Canada on February 22, 2022. The Brilliant Stars expansion for the Pokemon Trading Card Game officially launches on February 25th.