On what date was Game Freak founded as a video game company?

Game Freak was founded as a video game company on April 26, 1989.

The company grew out of Game Freak, a self-published video game magazine created by Satoshi Tajiri. Artist Ken Sugimori joined the magazine and later became a key collaborator in the development of Pokémon’s visual identity.

Tajiri and Sugimori transformed the magazine into a development studio in 1989. Before Pokémon, Game Freak produced several games, including Quinty, known as Mendel Palace in North America, and titles for systems such as the NES, Super Famicom, and Mega Drive.

The studio later developed Pokémon Red and Green for Nintendo’s Game Boy. Knowing Game Freak’s earlier history helps explain why Pokémon is linked to both a game developer and a publisher rather than originating solely inside Nintendo.