Pokémon X and Y were released worldwide simultaneously on October 12, 2013.
The games were developed by Game Freak for the Nintendo 3DS and marked the first main-series Pokémon release to use a simultaneous global launch. Earlier Pokémon games had generally arrived in Japan before reaching North America, Europe, and other regions.
Pokémon X and Y are the first games of Generation VI. They introduced the Kalos region, which is inspired by France, along with 72 new Pokémon species, character customization, Mega Evolution, and the Fairy type.
The worldwide launch was important for reducing spoilers and allowing players in different regions to experience the new generation together. Despite sharing a release date, the games remained separate versions with version-exclusive Pokémon, encouraging trading between X and Y.