Okay, so we know a brand new Pokemon game is in the works for Nintendo Switch. We even know that there is a push for it to come out this year (even if it ends up not meeting that deadline). But there have been questions about how exactly that might even happen—Game Freak is a relatively small developer, lacking the kind of technical chops that might be needed for HD development. How are we expecting them to make their first HD and console Pokemon game ever just two years since the release of Sun/Moon, and have it not be underwhelming?
One very simple way to do that might be to get them help from other studios. Nintendo studios like Monolith Soft, for example, could chip in and offer them help. Or, it could be third parties that collaborate with Nintendo and Game Freak on this game. Nintendo, after all, has collaborated with plenty of third parties, such as Bandai Namco, Sega, Tecmo, and Ubisoft in the past.
That last example, Ubisoft, is the interesting one here. You see, a Ubisoft developer, who in fact previously worked on Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, began dropping random tweets hinting at Pokemon last night. These tweets included a picture of a Lapras and Blastoise, a “look to the stars” reference (referencing the infamous Pokemon Stars, which was expected to be a Switch version of Sun/Moon that never ended up happening), and a tweet explicitly saying “Gotta catch ‘em all”. Moreover, this developer’s bio seems to suggest that his team is working on a new Nintendo Switch game, currently under NDA—given Nintendo and Ubisoft already collaborated on Mario, could there be a possibility that Ubisoft and Game Freak are collaborating on the new Pokemon game? Is that what all the teases are referring to?
Now, when explicitly asked that by fans, the developer did note that while he would like to one day work on Pokemon, that is not the case right now—which we can take at face value, and assume he was just dropping references to a franchise he loved on Twitter. On the other hand, there remains a possibility that his tweet might have been an attempt at a belated cover up after he realized that he may have tipped his hand a bit too far prior to an official announcement.
Assuming Pokemon is due this year, we’ll know soon whether or not this speculation has any merit—for now, this set of tweets has opened up a very interesting can of worms.
Time for a little hint tonight ! pic.twitter.com/keBUfzVeOB
— Kingslayer Pandar0o ⚡ (@ThePandar0o) April 17, 2018
When there is no more hope left. Just look at the stars. They are your better allies to fight evil. #SomethingThatHintsAtSomething
— Kingslayer Pandar0o ⚡ (@ThePandar0o) April 16, 2018
I just want you to stay calm I'm not very friendly of 10+ notifications per minute. I have a life and you have one too. Be happy guys. Thanks for understanding 😉
See ya for more news and hints soon !
Just one more thing for tonight: Gotta Catch'em all !— Kingslayer Pandar0o ⚡ (@ThePandar0o) April 17, 2018
Unfortunately it's not the case but I wish one day to work on a game like this it's my dream 🙂
— Kingslayer Pandar0o ⚡ (@ThePandar0o) April 17, 2018
