Pokemon Unite wins Best Game of 2021 at Best of Play

Olivia Richman • November 29, 21:05

Pokemon Unite has been crowned Best Game of 2021 in Google Play’s Best of Play 2021 awards.

Best of Play 2021 is a game awards ceremony focused on mobile gaming and beyond. Google has called it a celebration of the games that “made positive contributions to culture” in 2021. Pokemon Unite took home the highest honor of the ceremony as the Best Game of 2021.

“We tried to distill the best parts of the MOBA genre to create a new kind of game, but I must admit that I was unsure if it would be well-received by players around the world,” Pokemon Unite producer Masaaki Hoshino said. “This award shows that our game has been positively received by fans and the media, and while this is a great relief, at the same time it reaffirms our determination to continue doing our best to make Pokémon Unite an even more exciting experience that meets our players’ expectations.”

Pokemon Unite named Best Game of 2021

On September 20, 2021, Pokemon Unite announced that Pokemon Unite had surpassed 9 million downloads. All of these downloads were on Nintendo Switch only. Since then, Pokemon Unite has launched a mobile version as well, meaning there are even more players at this point.

What a goal! The Nintendo Switch version of #PokemonUNITE has just exceeded 9 million downloads! To show our excitement and gratitude, every Trainer will receive 2,000 Aeos Tickets starting 9/29.

Thanks for playing Pokémon UNITE, and look forward to the mobile launch on 9/22! pic.twitter.com/m9xyYXhL0k
— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) September 16, 2021

Pokemon Unite has over 354,000 followers on its Twitch category. It has fallen in viewership since launch, when it saw a peak viewership of over 225,000 concurrent users on Twitch. It now hovers around 3,000. But the player base seems to have remained strong.

With free content updates and an active community of fans, it’s no surprise that Pokemon Unite has made such a big impact on the gaming world in 2021.

What Pokemon are in Pokemon Unite?

Pokemon Unite features a lot of popular Pokemon as well as some more surprising additions that most fans didn’t expect to see. In October, developers revealed how they chose the Pokemon to include in the MOBA. The Pokemon are picked to create a variety of playing styles. This includes “eccentric” picks that introduce new possibilities to the Pokemon MOBA.

Pikachu (Attacker)
Charizard (All-Rounder)
Snorlax (Defender)
Crustle (Defender)
Greninja (Attacker)
Eldegoss (Supporter)
Talonflame (Speedster)
Lucario (All-Rounder)
Venusaur (Attacker)
Mr. Mime (Supporter)
Slowbro (Defender)
Absol (Speedster)
Machamp (All-Rounder)
Wigglytuff (Supporter)
Alolan Ninetales (Attacker)
Cramorant (Attacker)
Gengar (Speedster)
Garchomp (All-Rounder)
Cinderace (Attacker)
Zeraora (Speedster)
Gardevoir (Attacker)
Blissey (Supporter)
Blastoise (Defender)
Mamoswine (Defender)

Each Pokemon has a different role within the MOBA, similar to champions in League of Legends or heroes in Dota 2. Each Pokemon has abilities based on their attacks from the original game series. Some of the strongest Pokemon in competitive Pokemon Unite include Snorlax, Lucario, Venasaur, Wigglytuff, and Sylveon.