Earlier this year, I wrote extensively about the Ariana Grande Fornite concert, both before and after her performance. It helped that Grande is one of my favourite artists, but mostly it was about the excitement at the way games are evolving. Fortnite’s MLK event was a big whiff, but at least it’s swinging at things. While tech companies talk blandly about the metaverse and seem to conceive only of a future where it is used for meetings and marketing, gaming is making the metaverse happen. Grande’s concert was live music you could actively participate in. While not quite the same as seeing someone live, it was significantly better than just watching a live recording. I don’t quite think Fortnite was ready to showcase an artist of Grande’s stature and the ideas felt ever-so-slightly unfinished, but I could respect the attempt. Ed Sheeran’s upcoming Pokemon Go concert however, looks shit.

Maybe I’m being harsh. I was willing to get excited for Ariana Grande in part because it was Ariana Grande. My favourite three Ed Sheeran songs are End Game, Everything Has Changed, and Run - all songs in which he’s featured on a Taylor Swift track, which should tell you a little bit about where my loyalties lie. But that’s not all there is. With Fortnite, there was an attempt to merge music and gaming together in a way that was fresh and unique. Maybe it’s the future, maybe it’s not, but at least it’s something. This Ed Sheeran concert in Pokemon Go? It’s nothing.

Related: Pokemon Go Has Outdated ItselfHow I feel about Sheeran has almost nothing to do with it. Sure, had it been Grande or Swift, I would have been excited because I’d pay money to watch those two standing around waiting for a bus. But I like Sheeran as much as I like Post Malone, and I thought Post Malone’s Pokemon… whatever it was earlier this year was great. It doesn’t help that Ed Sheeran would go to the opening of an envelope if you invited him. The man’s got more acting credits than he has studio albums, and it’s not like he’s making a Lady Gaga shift into layered cinematic roles - I’m talking cameos in everything from Game of Thrones to The Simpsons, from Red Notice to Yesterday. Most of the time he just plays himself, which isn’t even really trying.

Ed Sheeran Pokemon Go

Likewise, this Pokemon Go crossover doesn’t seem like it’s really trying either. I love Pokemon Go and it surprises me how often gaming as a whole dismisses it - no other AR game has come close to reaching its standards, even those that came after and had a blueprint to work off. Harry Potter, one of the few franchises able to rival Pokemon, tried and failed with its own version of Pokemon Go. PoGo is the game of the century, I’ve already explained that. The game is excellent - but this feels lazy.

While Ariana Grande in Fortnite was a constructed concert based around Grande’s career and managed to bring the audience into the spectacle of it all, Ed Sheeran in Pokemon Go appears to just be a video of Ed Sheeran. It’s not especially clear whether this will be in virtual avatar form or just a live action recording of him playing guitar with a bunch of virtual Pokemon around him. Unlike the Grande x Fortnite crossover, Sheeran x Go seems like a half-hearted add-on. As part of the games press, I’ve seen a press release about it, but as a Pokemon Go player, all I’ve had is a message telling me to go to ‘the blog’ to learn more. It’s currently not even listed in the News section of the game.

I’m sure it will be following an update, because that’s also where the performance is going to be - the news section. Not an organic event you stumble across while playing, not a natural part of the map, not even an unlockable challenge for completing limited time research. Just pause the game, go into News - something no Pokemon Go player does regularly, by the way - and then see whatever it is the crossover even is.

Ariana Grande raising her hammer in fortnite

It annoys me because I love music, I love games, and I love when they come together… right now, over me. It’s why The Artful Escape is one of my favourite games of the year. It’s why I loved the Ariana Grande Fortnite concert beyond just “oh look, Ariana Grande, I like her.” It’s why I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy so much. Pokemon Go has the money to do this right. It doesn’t need to be a Fortnite spectacular, but it could be better than this, surely.

That’s before we even get into the Pokemon involved. Squirtle is Sheeran’s favourite, which like… fine. It’s not my Kanto pick but I can live with it. But all the other Pokemon features are the other Water starters. You cannot be a ginger fella with songs about weed and never pick a Fire or Grass starter. You just can’t, I’m sure it’s in the manual for Pokemon Gold somewhere.

Ed Sheeran in Pokemon Go would never make me that excited, because I just don’t like Ed Sheeran enough. But the apparent lack of effort and innovation going into this just makes me wonder who this is for. I feel the same way whenever Sheeran has one of his immersion-breaking cameos. He must have a damn good agent.

Next: Why I’m Waiting To Catch Mew In Pokemon Go