Game Freak — the studio behind every mainline Pokémon RPG since Red and Green — will exhibit at Tokyo Game Show for the first time in its 35-year history when TGS 2026 runs September 17–21. The announcement, confirmed in July, comes with one notable caveat the company made explicit: whatever they are bringing, it is not a Pokémon title.
A First in 35 Years of Game Development
Tokyo Game Show has run since 1996 — the same year Pokémon Red and Green launched in Japan. In the three decades since, Game Freak shipped dozens of Pokémon entries and a handful of original IPs, but the studio never once set up a booth on the TGS floor. Their game announcements happened through Nintendo Directs, Pokémon Presents, and their own website — never the world’s largest gaming expo.
That changes this September. Game Freak’s official announcement confirms its first-ever TGS booth exhibition, and makes no attempt to be coy about the Pokémon angle: “No Pokémon Series Titles to Be Exhibited.” Details on the specific game or project being shown are described as forthcoming.
So What Is Game Freak Showing?
The studio has not disclosed the title as of publication. Two possibilities stand out.
The first is Beast of Reincarnation, Game Freak’s most recent non-Pokémon release — a dark action-RPG that launched in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC to a Metacritic score of 73. It is the most ambitious original IP the company has built in years, and a live TGS demo would give it a platform it has not had in Japan.
The second — and more exciting — possibility is a completely new and unannounced title. Game Freak has a track record of surprising people with original projects: Tembo the Badass Elephant (2015) and Giga Wrecker Alt. (2019) both arrived without long pre-announcement build-ups. If the studio is reserving its TGS debut for something entirely new, the September event becomes must-watch territory.
TGS 2026 — What Else to Watch
TGS 2026 marks the show’s 30th anniversary, and this year is the first time it runs for five days — two business days (September 17–18) followed by three public days (September 19–21), all at Makuhari Messe. A record 759 exhibitors from 51 countries are on the floor, including Bandai Namco (bringing a playable Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 demo, its first public hands-on), Capcom, Square Enix, and many others.
For Singapore fans who made the trip, we covered the TGS 2026 ticket guide here. For those watching from home, Game Freak’s reveal — whatever it turns out to be — will be one of the more intriguing moments of a very packed show calendar. We will cover the announcement as soon as it drops.