DeNA promises ‘exciting’ Pokémon mobile game

DeNA will release an “exciting” new Pokémon game for smartphones before April 2020, it has said.

Addressing its plans for the current fiscal year, the company said in a statement that it plans to launch a new game “based on the globally popular Pokémon franchise.”

DeNA is the developer of multiple Nintendo mobile titles, including Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes. It’s also working on the upcoming Mario Kart Tour, which is expected to release this summer.

So far Nintendo and DeNA’s partnership hasn’t led to a true hit, with Nintendo stating that Super Mario Run, which initially launched as a free-to-start game on iOS, hadn’t meet its expectations as of March 2017.

The first game from the two companies, Miitomo, was shut down after just two years.

Meanwhile Niantic’s Pokémon Go continues to grow, with its developer recently claiming that the location-based monster hunting app has been downloaded more than one billion times.

Nintendo is also working with Asian firms Line and NHN to bring Dr. Mario World to mobile in summer 2019.