On what date was Game Freak, the main Pokémon developer, founded?

Game Freak, the main Pokémon developer, was founded on April 26, 1989.

The company was established in Tokyo by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. Its name came from Game Freak, a self-published video game magazine that Tajiri had created before turning the magazine project into a development studio.

Game Freak’s early software included Quinty, released in North America as Mendel Palace. The company later developed Pocket Monsters Red and Green for Nintendo’s Game Boy, releasing them in Japan in 1996 after a development period of roughly six years.

The founding date is earlier than Pokémon’s debut, so the two anniversaries are not the same. Game Freak’s pre-Pokémon history also explains why the studio is distinct from Nintendo: Nintendo published the original Pokémon games, while Game Freak developed them. The company remains best known for its role in the main Pokémon role-playing series.