Following the global frenzy spurred by Pokémon Go, today (May 30) the Pokémon Company announced the upcoming launch of two new Pokémon games.
The first title the company unveiled is called Pokémon Quest. Developed by Japanese game maker Game Freak, it’s a role-playing game (RPG) set in a place called Tumblecube Island, where users can search for treasure and train Pokémon. The game features a cubic aesthetic that recalls Minecraft. It’s available for the Nintendo Switch starting today, with iOS and Android versions to launch later this year.
The second game is called Pokémon Let’s Go, and it’s available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in two versions—Let’s Go Pikachu, and Let’s Go Evee. Also from Game Freak, it borrows from Nintendo’s classic 1998 title Pokémon Yellow and upgrades it for the company’s latest console. Players can catch 151 Pokémon using motion gestures with the Switch’s controllers, or with a separate accessory called the Pokéball Plus—a life-size Pokéball, essentially. Pokémon Let’s Go is available in single-player and multi-player modes, and is compatible with Pokémon Go—though it’s not yet clear how the two games overlap.
Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Evee will go on sale in November 16. Watch the trailer below:
The Pokémon Company, which Nintendo owns a sizeable stake in, also said it would launch a “core series Pokémon RPG” in 2019, though it didn’t share further details.
The Switch has led to a comeback for Nintendo, which had for years struggled to adapt to the shift away from console gaming and toward mobile gaming. The company sold 15 million Switch devices over the course of its fiscal year ending in April 2018, and expects to sell 20 million additional units by the same time next year.