On what date was Game Freak officially incorporated, before Pokémon’s debut?

Game Freak was officially incorporated on April 26, 1989.

The company grew from a self-published video game magazine created by Satoshi Tajiri. Ken Sugimori joined the magazine as an illustrator, and the pair eventually transformed the publication into a game development company with the same name.

Game Freak’s first published game was Quinty, an action-puzzle title released by Namco and known in North America as Mendel Palace. The studio later pitched the concept that became Pokémon to Nintendo. Development lasted several years and placed considerable financial pressure on the small company.

Game Freak became one of the three companies most closely associated with Pokémon, alongside Nintendo and Creatures. Its programmers and artists developed the original games, while Nintendo published them and Creatures contributed production and business support. The company’s earlier history explains why Pokémon was not created as a Nintendo internal project.