The Pokémon Company and developer Game Freak gave Pokémon fans a new look at the next games in the franchise, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, in a new trailer on Wednesday that showed off new Pokémon, the open-world games’ new region, and a 2022 release date.
Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet will come to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 18, The Pokémon Company announced Wednesday. The games will send players to a new, still unnamed region, where they’ll catch Pokémon both familiar and fresh, including newly revealed Pokémon Lechonk, Smoliv, and Pawmi.
Scarlet and Violet will include multiplayer gameplay for up to four players, according to a news release. That includes trading and battling Pokémon, as well as multiplayer exploration of “various locations of the region in these games.”
The Pokémon Company announced its next generation of Pokémon games in February, revealing an all-new location and adorable new Generation 9 starters Sprigatito, a “capricious, attention-seeking Grass Cat Pokémon”; Fuecoco, a “laid-back Fire Croc Pokémon that does things at its own pace”; and Quaxly, an “earnest and tidy Duckling Pokémon.” Since then, The Pokémon Company has been relatively quiet about Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
It’s already been a big year for Pokémon fans, who got the stand-alone game Pokémon Legends: Arceus in January, just a few months after the launch of remakes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl on Nintendo Switch. The newest mainline releases in the series, Pokémon Shield and Pokémon Sword, launched in 2019 on Nintendo Switch.