Game Freak has made games other than Pokémon before. It has also released games on non-Nintendo platforms before. Yet whenever it spices up a launch schedule with either of these curveballs, it never fails to catch us off guard.
Yesterday, the Pokémon dev popped up at the Xbox Games Showcase to reveal Beast of Reincarnation, the action RPG previously revealed back in 2023 under the codename ‘Project Bloom’. It looks awesome, it’s arriving at some point in 2026, and Switch / Switch 2… don’t appear to be invited to the party right now.
Beast of Reincarnation has been confirmed for launch on Xbox Series X and S, PC and PS5, and, from the little we’ve seen so far, it certainly seems to be making the most of the beefier consoles’ power.
Described as “an expansive one-person, one-dog action RPG built around demanding, technical combat,” Beast of Reincarnation will see you exploring a post-apocalyptic Japan, on a mission to take down a gruesome beastie that brought about mankind’s demise. Soooo, not catching cute little bug creatures in the tall grass, then?
Here’s a brief summary and a handful of screenshots from the game’s Steam page:
In post-apocalyptic Japan, a land ruined by corruption and crawling with monstrous beasts, humanity’s last hope may rest with Emma—an outcast cursed as a Blighted One—and Koo, her loyal canine companion.
Survive a journey across an ominous, ever-changing world where dangerous forests can erupt in the wasteland. As Emma and Koo push deeper into the unknown, their bond strengthens—and with it, strange powers bloom.
Explore what it means to be human in Beast of Reincarnation, an expansive one-person, one-dog action RPG built around demanding, technical combat.
What awaits at journey’s end?
This one was initially announced as a partnership between Game Freak and Private Division, but the latest reveal has a new studio, ‘Fictions,’ on publishing duties — presumed to be the team built by former Annapurna Interactive staff.
It all looks very big and impressive, with a scale that we’re sure would prove too much for Switch 1. Switch 2, on the other hand, might be able to handle things — it can handle Cyberpunk, for crying out loud — but it’s still missing from the launch line-up for the time being. Keep those fingers crossed for another announcement soon then, eh?
