The Pokémon Company hosted its annual Pokémon Day Presents livestream this afternoon (February 27) with plenty of updates about new games and more.
Pokémon Day is February 27, the day that the original Pokémon Red and Green games were released in Japan. This year, a 20-minute livestream gave fans a rundown of everything they can expect over the next few months and beyond.
The big news is that Pokémon Legends: Z-A now has a release window of “late 2025” while an in-depth trailer introduces players to the reworked Lumiose City. It’s also been confirmed that your starting Pokémon will be Totodile, Chikorita and Tepig while the battling system has been revamped, with movement now a major factor in deciding who comes out on top.
Some fans believe the late 2025 release window means Legends: Z-A will be a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 however nothing has been confirmed beyond the initial reveal that the game will be coming to “Switch platforms”.
The Presents stream also confirmed brand new game Pokémon Champions was currently in development from Game Freak. The multiplayer game doesn’t currently have a release date but will work on both Nintendo Switch systems and mobile, with players able to use their ‘mon from other Pokémon games. “This new, battle-focused game will feature familiar mechanics such as Pokémon types, abilities, and moves, creating an environment conducive to rich and varied strategies for new and experienced Trainers alike,” reads the game’s description.
It’s also been confirmed that a new expansion of cards will be released tomorrow (February 28) for Pokémon TCG Pocket while ranked play is set to launch by the end of March.
During the Pokémon Day Presents, updates for Pokémon Sleep and Cafe were also confirmed, while a second season of Netflix’s stop-motion series Pokémon Concierge is currently in production, with new episodes due out later this year.
In other news, a new report has revealed that most gamers are spending their time on the same 10 live service games.
The post ‘Pokemon Champions’ revealed – and all the other Pokemon Day announcements appeared first on NME.
