The Pokémon Company finally, in the dead of night, announced its annual Pokémon Day Presents showcase. This is the stream the company hosts every year on February 27 to celebrate the franchise’s anniversary. Pokémon is turning 30 in 2026, so there’s probably a lot to share ahead of the coming year. Here’s what we know and what we can likely expect to see next week.
When and where can I watch?
The Pokémon Presents stream will air on Friday, February 27, at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific. You can catch it on the official Pokémon YouTube and Twitch channels to watch it live, or as a VOD if you can’t tune into the show as it premieres. We’ll also have a recap of what we see here at Kotaku if you just want the highlights.
What do we know?
Right now, the only project confirmed to make an appearance are the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen ports that were announced alongside the presentation. The showcase will last 25 minutes, according to the Japanese Pokémon Twitter account, which makes it one of the longer Pokémon Day showcases since Nintendo and friends started hosting these.
What will we likely see?
The Pokémon Presents showcases cover pretty much everything going on in the franchise right now, so if you’re only interested in the next big RPG, be ready to endure segments devoted to other things. We’ll see updates on mobile games like Pokémon Masters EX, Pokémon Go, and Pokémon Sleep, as well as other major pillars of the franchise like the anime and Trading Card Game. Pokémon Pokopia is also out the following week, so I’m sure we’ll see at least a little bit more of that game as we approach its March 5 release date.
Since this is the 30th anniversary, we can probably expect some portion of the showcase to be dedicated to upcoming events, both online and off, celebrating the milestone. The Pokémon Company has confirmed plans to hold separate events for both families and adults with its Day Out and Night Out events, with the former being geared toward all ages and the latter being suited for “longtime fans,” which is code for people who were relatively cognizant when the series debuted 30 years ago. Right now, we don’t know what these events will entail, so a 30th anniversary stream is as good a place as any to finally lift the curtain.
Based on the many leaks that have come from Game Freak over the past few years, we know a fair bit about the upcoming Generation X games, reportedly called Pokémon Wind and Wave. It’s very likely that these RPGs will take up a good portion of the showcase. I would be very surprised if Pokémon didn’t release a new RPG during its 30th year, and the leaks heavily imply these games are next on the docket, so we could be seeing the next generation of Pokémon next week.
Whatever is announced, we’ll have coverage of the stream here at Kotaku as it’s happening.
