DokeV: The Pokemon MMORPG We’ve All Been Waiting For?

Sometimes a game is announced that just leaves me.. speechless. That can be due to a number of reasons, of course, but with regards to DokeV.. well, let me start off by stating that this MMO is being developed by Pearl Abyss.
Yes, the same Pearl Abyss responsible for not only Black Desert Online, but also the upcoming Crimson Desert pre-sequel-spin-off. I’m sure you’re aware that DokeV is an upcoming MMORPG targeting both PC and console platforms specifically, but apparently the game was originally being developed for mobile devices.
Yup – you heard that correctly. The game, initially, was being conceived with mobile devices in mind. Pearl Abyss had no intention of releasing the game onto any other platform – well, not until they did.
Nevertheless, Pearl Abyss have reassured players that a mobile iteration of the game isn’t off the tables. While not expected right now, there’s a chance that as the game further progresses through its development cycle they’ll begin either making a mobile port, or expand further into a standalone mobile spin-off.
DokeV is an MMORPG that takes inspiration from Pokemon- or, maybe not so much Pokemon, more Yo-Kai Watch. Who here has seen or played any of the Yo-Kai Watch games or Anime? Admittedly I haven’t, I was definitely not its target audience, and the nature of the game kinda dissuaded me from playing it a little bit.
In the game you take on the role of… well actually I don’t know what we are, but we capture “Dokebi,” which are little creatures with special abilities – much like Pokemon. Much like Pokemon, you as the.. master? I’m gonna go ahead and just refer to us as masters for now, don’t actually take part in combat.
Instead, you enslave these creatures to do your bidding – hunting other creatures, doing battle with them, capturing or defeating them and subsequently sucking them up into your weird spirit-vacuum. Yup, I’m calling that thing the spirit-vacuum.

And.. that’s pretty much all the information we have on the game.
We know that DokeV is an upcoming MMORPG slated for release on PC and consoles, along with various other Pearl Abyss developed titles, and we know that the game currently does not have a mobile iteration. However, a mobile game inspired by DokeV in some form is definitely being considered, however what form that will ultimately take remains to be seen.
Whether it’ll be a mere port, a simple add-on or something greater, like an entire game based on the DokeV universe is up for discussion. Honestly.. I’m not sure what kind of game I’d want.
While yeah, having the game be cross-platform compatible would actually be really awesome. I’d love to be able to play DokeV on my PC, play with Mrs Stix on the PS4 and when I’m away – out doing something, I think it’d be pretty cool to log in to the game on my phone and just mess around for short periods.
This is one of the reasons I believe cross-platform games are the future of the genre. But with regards to the kind of game I hope DokeV ends up rolling out onto mobile devices? If they’re not willing to go the cross-platform route, then I think it’d be a good idea to instead make a completely separate game from the main IP.
But that’s just my thinking. I don’t think having more than one version of the same game going is the correct way of going about this but then I’m not a game developer – I don’t know anything about running a successful MMO.

Regardless, DokeV is going to have beta tests this year – in 2020, so if you’re excited for a monster-collecting MMO that isn’t Temtem, this may be just what you’re after.