Pokemon Sword and Shield Revealed With First Details; Coming to Switch in 2019

During February’s Pokemon Direct, President and CEO of the Pokemon Company Tsunekaze Ishihara announced Pokemon Sword and Shield a new Pokemon journey on Nintendo Switch coming in 2019.

Each title is being produced by Junichi Masuda at Game Freak. Masuda-san explains that they are focused on the veteran trainers as well as the brand new trainers while they develop these new entries.

The game will take place in a new region, the Galar region, explained by Game Freak director Shigeru Ohmor, which is filled with the countryside, city, and snow-covered environments. Players will also be able to choose from new starter Pokemon Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble as they work towards becoming a Pokemon Champion.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield will release on Switch in late 2019. Typically mainline Pokemon games are developed and released on Nintendo handheld systems. However, with the portable nature of the Switch, the company has looked toward the future of the IP and is now using more powerful hardware to develop a new Pokemon adventure. It’s unsure how this new hardware will translate into a more in-depth Pokemon experience, but the team at Game Freak will share more soon.

You can watch the full announcement below:

Author’s take: This is so exciting!