Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Pokémon Champions Director Defends Graphics and Performance, Citing Technical Limits

He says the team prioritized competitive fairness over flashy visuals.

Overview

  • In a Monday interview, director Masaaki Hoshino said the team "tried to do our best" and added he is flying back to Japan to help post-launch development.
  • Hoshino pointed to constraints versus Pokkén Tournament because more Pokémon share the field in Champions and the game must run across platforms including mobile.
  • Eurogamer reported that the Switch 2 version still targets 30 FPS and looks much like the original Switch release.
  • He highlighted specific visual work, noting every Pokémon has its own shadow and that battle effects were rebuilt from scratch.
  • The April 8 launch drew complaints about bugs, stiff animation, and missing content, as the free-to-start battler is set to serve as the official hub for competitive play with ongoing seasonal updates.