Pokémon fans, get out your Pikachu-themed pens and mark your calendars.
The Pokémon Company will reveal new information about the next games in the series, Sun and Moon, at 6 a.m. Pacific on July 1, according to IGN. Pokémon is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, but it also makes a lot of money in other industries. The brand earns $1.5 billion a year thanks to games, anime, cards, and merchandise. However, the digital adventures still bring in the most money. Pokémon games have so far sold over 200 million copies. Sun and Moon are coming out for the 3DS on November 18.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1987661,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"C"}']We already know a bit about these titles. We’ve seen the starters (the three Pokémon you get to choose from at the start of your adventure), saw some legendaries (the rarest kind of Pokémon in the series), and got a good look at the Hawaiian-themed setting of the Alola region.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month, Nintendo also revealed Battle Royal, a new, four-player battle mode.
We still have a lot to learn about Sun and Moon, though. New games in the series introduce dozens of new Pokémon, so we should expect more reveals on July 1. We could also learn about new gameplay features like Battle Royal.
Sun and Moon are Nintendo’s most important releases this holiday season, especially with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild not coming out until next year. They can also give a boost to the aging 3DS platform, which originally released 2011.