Pokemon developer Game Freak is working on an unannounced project with Private Division, publisher of The Outer Worlds, Hades, and OlliOlli World, among other games. The project is tentatively titled Project Bloom, and while there isn’t much information to build on just yet, it’s kind of a big deal anyway.
Game Freak rarely works on non-Pokemon games, and the results are mixed when they do. Tembo the Badass Elephant, a side-scrolling platformer that Sega published, met with a fairly warm reception thanks to its strong stage design. Critics also praised the town-builder-meets-RPG Little Town Hero for its unique take on the genre, but were less impressed with the battle design and characterization.
Whatever Game Freak’s vision for Project Bloom, it will be an action-adventure game with what looks like a darker art direction than we usually see from the developer.
“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to create new IP that is bold and tonally different from our prior work,” Kota Furushima, director at Game Freak, said in a statement. “From the beginning, Private Division was the publisher we wanted to work with on our new game. Their track record and global expertise give us all the confidence to create a sweeping new action-adventure game that we can’t wait to share more about in the future.”
“Over the past three decades, you’d be hard-pressed to find a studio which has released more iconic hits than Game Freak,” Michael Worosz, head of Private Division, said. “We’re ready to help Game Freak unleash their potential and we’re honored to be the first Western publisher to work alongside this exceptionally talented and proven team to bring a bold new IP to market.”
There’s quite a while to wait before it does come to market, though. Private Division said they expect Project Bloom to launch sometime in parent company Take-Two’s 2026 fiscal year.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
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