Game Freak Hiring Designers For What Looks Suspiciously Like Pokemon Stars
Game Freak is hiring, and their listing hints at something we’ve suspected for a long time: there may be a console Pokemon game in the works.
We’ve been suspicious about the possibility of a Nintendo Switch Pokemon title for months now, ever since Eurogamer dropped rumors of the title last year and GameStop seemed to agree by accidentally listing the title in January. The game, apparently named Pokemon Stars, would be the very first main-series Pokemon title to appear on a console if it existed, and is rumored to be the “third game” in the generation begun by Pokemon Sun and Moon. Today, a strange piece of news coming out of Game Freak indicates further that these rumors may be true.
Siliconera reports that Game Freak is currently hiring, looking for 3D CG designers for contract work through May of 2018 at the latest. Their translation of the adverts indicates that the hires would be working on ” the production an RPG game that is popular on a global scale” and would need to create cartoon characters, monsters, and item models in 3D.
The listing also requests people with experience developing for the Wii U and PS Vita. If that doesn’t scream Pokemon Stars on Nintendo Switch, I’m not exactly sure what would short of a full-blown announcement.
The Nintendo Switch is uniquely situated to take up the main series Pokemon mantle simply by virtue of its portability, but fans would likely balk at the idea of a straight port with the weaker 3DS models. Whatever Pokemon Stars turned out to be, Game Freak would likely need to rebuild from the ground up to support the stronger platform, which would explain why we haven’t heard anything just yet while Nintendo tries to sell us on their launch line up for the Switch. My bets? We’ll know more at E3 2017, and hopefully Game Freak will shoot for either an early 2018 release or, more generously, holiday 2017.