The studio behind Pokémon is making a brand new action-adventure game

By Tomas Franzese May 9, 2023

Game Freak, the developer behind the popular Pokémon series, announced it is working on a new action-adventure game code-named Project Bloom. The game will be published by Private Division, a subsidiary of Take-Two that brought us games like The Outer Worlds, OlliOlli World, and Kerbal Space Program 2.

Artwork for Private Division and Game Freak's partnership. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

This is the first time Game Freak has partnered with a North American publisher during the development of one of its games. It has either self-published or worked with companies like Nintendo or Sega in the past. On Private Division’s end, this is simply the latest in a long string of publishing deals made with developers like Ori and Blind Forest’s Moon Studios and Silent Hill 2 remake’s Bloober Team.

Game Freak and Private Division did not reveal much about the game they are working on together outside of its code name and genre. A press release confirms the game’s director is Kota Furushima, who previously worked as a Battle Planner on Pokémon titles like Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, Sword, and Shield. Furushima says that Game Freak is “thrilled to have the opportunity to create new IP that is bold and tonally different from our prior work.” Currently, our only look at the project is a piece of concept art by Nier Automata concept artist Koda Kazuma.

A ronin stands alone in a forest in Project Bloom concept art. — Gamefreak

Project Bloom’s concept art shows someone who appears to be a ronin standing in a river in front of a large tree in a luscious green forest filled with fireflies. It’s a beautiful piece of art, but it looks closer to games like Monster Hunter and Ghost of Tsushima than anything in Game Freak’s Pokémon games. We will have to wait a while to find out more about this game, though.

Private Division says that Project Bloom is slated to release “during Take Two’s Fiscal Year 2026.” That means the game will come out sometime between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.

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Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

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