News
DeNA Develops Pokémon Masters Smartphone Game
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The Pokémon Company announced on Wednesday that game company DeNA is developing a new smartphone game called Pokémon Masters, with a release slated for this year. The company will reveal more details about the game in June, but teased that it will let players "battle alongside your favorite Pokémon Trainers from the main series RPGs."
The original idea for the game came from GAME FREAK's Ken Sugimori, who suggested a game featuring all the past and present Pokémon trainers in the series. Game company DeNA announced earlier this month that it plans to launch a new smartphone game in the new fiscal year based on the Pokémon franchise.
Niantic and The Pokémon Company launched the Pokémon GO app in select countries including the United States in July 2016. The game earned an estimated US$795 million worldwide in 2018, and has earned US$2.2 billion as of the end of 2018.
In 2015, Nintendo partnered with DeNA to lend its intellectual property for the creation and launch of "approximately" five smartphone titles by March 2017. Through that partnership, Nintendo and DeNA have released the Super Mario Run, Miitomo, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp games. Service for Miitomo ended in May 2018.
Source: The Pokémon Company live stream
