Pokemon Stadium-like battling game Pokemon Champions is "free-to start," but a "paid digital version" is coming to Switch 2 and OG Switch too

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Not entirely sure what that means

Key art for Pokemon Champions
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Finally, a new medium for competitive Pokemon battling is arriving. In 2026, we'll be able to get our hands on Pokemon Champions, the new home of VGC. Interestingly, it'll be "free-to-start" and then a paid version will come out later.

Now, I know what a free-to-play game is, but I've never heard of free-to-start before. The initial announcement for Pokemon Champions mentioned an in-game currency, but also stated it wouldn't be purchasable with real money, so I don't think this is going to turn into a microtransaction-riddled game. Still, free-to-start has puzzled me.

Here's the full quote from Pokemon's PR: "Pokémon Champions is a free-to-start game coming to Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices in 2026. More details on a paid digital version of Pokémon Champions on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch systems will be shared in the future."

Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
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I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

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