Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary with a bumper anniversary stream – check out all the big announcements below.
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The original Pokémon games Red & Green were released in Japan on February 27, 1996 before becoming a global phenomenon.
To celebrate Pokémon Day, The Pokémon Company typically hosts an annual Presents showcase to share news and updates on the year ahead. “In those first two titles 151 Pokémon made their appearance. Now, a total of 1025 Pokémon have been discovered,” explained CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara at the start of the 30th anniversary stream. “We hope you will all enjoy seeing how Pokémon continues to evolve.
Fans had been expecting today’s stream to be a big one. Last week it was confirmed the 2002 remakes of the OG games FireRed & LeafGreen would be available to buy on the Nintendo Switch as soon as the showcase wrapped up. A lengthy showcase of the upcoming game Pokémon Pokopia aired earlier this week.
The first announcement was that all 45 songs from the Pokémon Red & Blue soundtrack are being released on the new physical Game Music Collection player that will play the tracks via special cartridges. Pre-orders for the “GameBoy Jukebox” are going live later today.
Pokemon Game Music Collection announced pic.twitter.com/ZzePv6EfCn
— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 27, 2026
As well as updates for Unite, Sleep and Cafe, Pokémon GO is hosting a special anniversary event this weekend, with old favourites also set to return to the game. It’s also been confirmed GameCube classic Pokémon XD: Gale Of Darkness is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 Online Library in March, though an exact release date is still to be announced.
Pokémon fans were also given another look at upcoming strategy game Champions, which will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 in April ahead of a mobile release later this year.
The stream ended with an adorable video featuring hand drawn images of Pikachu exploring the world of Pokémon. The clip then cut to an animated Pikachu on a cruise, joined by some very well-dressed relatives.
It was revealed that the next mainline games, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves will be released at some point in 2027. The three new starters were also unveiled – Browt is a grass-type Owl, Pombon is a firey dog and Gecqua is a water-type lizard.
In other news, members of the original Guitar Hero development team have confirmed their new rhythm game Stage Tour will launch later this year.
The post ‘Pokémon Winds & Waves’ release date and all the other good stuff from the 30th anniversary showcase appeared first on NME.