On what date was Game Freak, the developer of the Pokémon games, founded as a company?

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

Before becoming a development studio, Game Freak was a self-published magazine created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1983. Tajiri wrote about arcade games, and Ken Sugimori later joined as the magazine’s illustrator. Their collaboration eventually led them to turn the name into a game-development company.

Game Freak’s early work included Quinty, released in North America as Mendel Palace. The studio later developed Pokémon Red and Green, which became its defining series and one of the most successful video-game properties in history.

The dates 1983 and 1989 describe different stages of Game Freak’s history. 1983 marks the magazine’s creation, while April 26, 1989 marks the formal start of the video-game company. Pokémon itself came later, with its first games released in Japan in 1996.