Pokémon UNITE is set to end service in Belgium and the Netherlands from Nov. 30, 2025, with registration and renewal of Unite Club memberships and sales of Aeos Gems ending entirely on Oct. 31, 2024, effectively bringing the game to a halting stop.
The news comes from Pokémon UNITE’s in-game notification screen, which informed players from the two European regions that The Pokémon Company has made “the difficult decision to discontinue server” and that it thanked all the Belgium and Dutch players who had enjoyed UNITE up until this moment.
White, the team hasn’t given a reason for the sudden closure; the decision to end the service is likely down to Belgium and Netherlands regulations that effectively ban loot boxes in games or any mechanics with random elements that can be seen as gambling. Pokémon UNITE has been created multiple events in recent years that can be seen as turning the game into a gacha title with its cosmetics and is likely unable to continue operating with its current business model.
Other gacha or loot box Pokémon games, like Pokémon Masters EX and the upcoming release of Pokémon TCG Pocket, are also banned in both these countries due to these elements, which has led to players in those regions resorting to VPNs and APKS to try and get them to work.
With the game ending, the sale of Aeos Gems in Pokémon UNITE from the end of October in these regions, the game is effectively shutting down any player’s ability to purchase items from the in-game store, whether that is cosmetics, new Pokémon, or more. It means no matter what updates the game gets in the next year, players in Belgium and the Netherlands won’t be able to unlock anything unless they scrounge up the free currency. It’s effectively killing off the game ahead of time.
What this also means for Belgium and Netherlands players looking to compete in events on the road to the World Championships from Nov. 2025 onwards hasn’t been announced yet. We can’t see players being banned from participating in the events so long as they are in other countries, but it throws a spanner in the works for any prospective competitor looking to compete against the best.
