Game Freak has been working on the Pokémon series of video games for nearly three decades. The studio's first Pokémon title, Red and Blue, was released in 1996 for the Nintendo Game Boy. In between, they developed work on other titles but it was a rare occurrence. Now, the studio wants to expand its horizons more often, saying that its growth lies in creating "original games."
In a recent interview with Video Game Chronicles, Game Freak's general manager Masafumi Saito described the importance of working on original titles for the studio's growth. Saito said that making new games is a great challenge and is a great motivator for creators.
It is very important to Game Freak to keep taking on the challenge of creating original games," Saito said in the interview. "I think that creating a game from scratch, putting it out there, and getting a good reception is a great motivator for creators and is also very significant in terms of its meaning for the growth of the company. With that said, we do not think in terms of limiting original games to small-scale projects."