Satoshi Tajiri officially incorporated Game Freak in 1989.
Game Freak began as a handwritten video-game fanzine created by Tajiri. He launched the magazine in 1983, and illustrator Ken Sugimori later joined as a contributor. Their shared interest in game design eventually led them to turn the publication into a development company.
The company was incorporated on April 26, 1989. Before Pokémon, Game Freak worked on other games, including Quinty, which was published by Namco. This earlier experience gave Tajiri and his collaborators a foundation for designing and programming larger projects.
Tajiri conceived Pokémon after the company's formation, inspired by insect collecting and the Game Boy's link cable. The first Pokémon games were not released until 1996, so Game Freak's incorporation predates the franchise by several years. That timeline is why 1989 belongs to Pokémon's development history, not its launch year.