Pokemon gets a new stunning multiplayer game out of nowhere

In the limbo period between Pokopia and Winds and Waves, the Pokémon community finds itself celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first Pikachu card opening.

The iconic series has kicked off its birthday celebrations with a range of giveaways across its massive portfolio of games - A Pokopia DLC featuring new cute 'mons and accessories, and a free card offering for the TGC fans come as just two of countless bonuses across the entire Pokémon platforms.

Pokopia especially has been flying the flag for the franchise, earning the first Game of the Year award of 2026, undercutting GTA 6.

Yet while Poke fans are waiting for Winds and Waves, a brand new multiplayer game has been showcased that has appeared in the most random of places.

PokeWorlds Online is a co-op title launching within Hytale

PokeWorlds Online has been showcased on social media as a fan-made mod, full of nostalgic, pixel aesthetics and gameplay features straight out of Nintendo's locker.

With gyms and Poke interactions that are all too familiar to long-time fans, the online multiplayer mod will allow players to interact, trade, and battle with each other in an open-world setting.

"It will feature well-known regions, more Pokémon, and, most importantly, eventually allow for custom regions, Fakemon, and much more," the project creator said.

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Yet this is no ordinary emulator. In fact, it's not even a Pokémon mod. PokeWorlds Online is actually a custom build from Hytale, the Zelda-like sandbox game currently in early access.

Hytale has suffered from a stop-start production cycle, starting as an indie game created by a company best known for their custom Minecraft worlds, before being bought by Riot Games (League of Legends and VALORANT), before being cancelled and subsequently returned to the original owners.

Now, it's enjoying a second lease of life in early access, with Creative modes allowing for Fortnite-like Unreal Universes to be created within the game.

PokeWorld Online has already amassed some huge plaudits, with the Hytale support system blowing fans away.

"Oh cool a Pokémon online multiplayer like what I used to play on those websi-WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS A HYTALE MOD?! HUHHHHH?????" one fan said.

A second added, "This is the kinda stuff I KNEW was possible all along in Hytale modding, its insane just how robust of a platform hytale is, and what types of mods we could see from it!!"

Of course, there's the looming Nintendo copyright law hammer that could swing in PokeWorld Online's direction, but the creator isn't too bothered.

"If Nintendo steps in (which is understandable), I would simply need to use custom assets and Fakemon. But there are plenty of online Pokémon games (without emulation) that exist, such as Pokémon Revolution Online. So I’m hoping I’ll be left alone at first haha," they said.

Hopefully, this will be a project that sees the light of day when Hytale is launched in full and thriving, as a Pokémon MMORPG is everything we've been asking for for generations.