Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the latest mainline games in the beloved Pokemon franchise. As well as giving players the usual highlights of a Pokemon title, including catching, training, and battling with their pocket monsters, Scarlet and Violet also promise a whole host of additional features. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet bring an open world to the mainline games for the first time, and allows players to venture through that open world together in four-player co-op. Due to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet being ambitious titles, some have wondered whether Game Freak has put in enough time in order to pull off all that it has promised.
In a recent talk held during the Computer Entertainment Developers Conference or CEDEC, Pokemon developer Game Freak spoke openly about how it created assets for each title in the franchise. From Red and Blue to the latest games in the series, Game Freak detailed how it used different effects to boost the graphics of Pokemon games over each generation. Something that also came up was how long Game Freak typically spends working on an entry in the Pokemon franchise.
It was confirmed that work on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet began just as work on Pokemon Sword and Shield was finishing up. Considering that the eighth generation of Pokemon games released in late 2019, it can be assumed that work on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has been going on ever since then, giving Game Freak nearly three years to complete generation nine. It seems that three years is seen as the optimal amount of time Game Freak spends on producing Pokemon titles, as work on Pokemon Legends: Arceus also reportedly took that amount of time.
It was stated in the same CEDEC talk that Game Freak began work on the successful Pokemon Legends: Arceus even before the release of Sword and Shield, in the fall of 2018. Considering that Legends: Arceus released in early 2022, again this means development took around 3 years. It seems that the gameplay style of Pokemon Legends: Arceus will have an effect on Scarlet and Violet, considering the former set the groundwork for the latter's open world with its large areas for players to explore.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set for a release in November 2022, and as that date approaches, Game Freak and Nintendo have unveiled more details about the game. The most recent lot of information came at the end of the Pokemon World Championships, where a new legendary for Scarlet and Violet was revealed.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release November 18 for Nintendo Switch.