"Pokemon Uranium," the hit game that was developed by fans over a span of almost one decade, has recently been ordered by Nintendo to shut down. According to the creators of "Pokemon Uranium," they will adhere to Nintendo's shutdown notice despite the huge popularity of their game.
Kotaku reported that the developers of "Pokemon Uranium" have not received any letters from Nintendo's attorneys to cease and desist yet, although they have received multiple takedown notices and prefer not to take any risks that may eventually lead to a legal dispute. They stated that they have not been personally contacted by Nintendo but they clearly understand their wishes and respect these deeply.
"Pokemon Uranium" has been a hit since it released, having been downloaded 1.5 million times by fans. Now, they have removed all official download links for "Pokemon Uranium" from their website. In their official statement, they confirmed that they will stop providing direct links to "Pokemon Uranium," and have no connection to fans who may reupload the game files in other onlne places. They clarified that they cannot verify whether the future download links from fans are completely legitimate, so potential players have to be careful about downloading the game from unofficial sources.
VG247 revealed that "Pokemon Uranium" features 192 Pokemon, eight Pokemon gyms and a new region. The game launched earlier in August 2016 after nine years in development. Reportedly, the Online Features, Mystery Gift, Wondertrade, GTS and Online Lobby of "Pokemon Uranium" are all functional and patches and game updates will still be provided in the future. The only change is that the makers will no longer distribute the game download on their official website.
In the past, Nintendo has also caused the shutdown of unofficial versions of its widely popular Pokemon franchise. Before "Pokemon Uranium," a number of fan-made games have also been closed down by the game company, stating that these violated their terms of service. Niantic, creator of the currently famous "Pokemon Go," has also been actively cracking down on third-party apps and trackers that affect gameplay. More updates and details on "Pokemon Uranium" are expected soon.
