"Pokemon Uranium," an unlicensed fan-made game launched this August, has been pulled by its creators after reaching more than a million downloads worldwide. The game, which took over nine years to develop, had been targeted by Nintendo lawyers over the weekend. To avoid a messy legal battle, the game's development team decided to remove the download links from their official page after receiving multiple takedown notices from lawyers representing Nintendo of America.
"Pokemon Uranium" was launched on Windows during the first week of August, creating 150 new Pokemon to catch and train, reminiscent of the main handheld series' 2D installments. The game is set in the fictional Tandor region, where original Pokemon have mutated due to radiation exposure. The player's goal is to battle and stop these creatures. "Pokemon Uranium" includes the ability to battle and trade online with other players, according to Euro Gamer. Moreover, this fan-made version of the game allows players to talk to Pokemon - a feature no other Pokemon version has done before.
Due mostly to the "Pokemon Go" fever which has swept the world over the past few weeks, "Uranium" successfully caught the attention of fans from all over the world immediately after its release. While the game is no longer available on the "Pokemon Uranium" website, those interested in playing the game have been scouring the internet, particularly free file sharing websites, for their own copy.
In a statement posted on "Pokemon Uranium's" official website, the developers disassociated themselves from fans who decide to reupload or distribute the game. They further cautioned against downloading from unofficial sources which reportedly host the game in their servers.
"Pokemon Uranium" is just one of the many other casualties in the fan-made video game universe. As reported by Polygon, "AM2rR: Another Metroid 2 Remake" and "Star Wars: Battlefront 3," which are both fan-made games inspired by "Metroid" and "Star Wars," respectively, have been pulled by their developers due to issues with Nintendo and Lucasarts.
To see what the hype is all about, watch "Pokemon Uranium's" full trailer below:
