{"id":57867,"date":"2026-02-18T18:26:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T09:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=57867"},"modified":"2026-02-18T18:26:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T09:26:39","slug":"pokemon-pokopia-boasts-largest-development-team-in-omega-force-history-with-dragon-quest-builder-2s-game-and-art-director-on-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-pokopia-boasts-largest-development-team-in-omega-force-history-with-dragon-quest-builder-2s-game-and-art-director-on-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon\u00a0Pokopia\u00a0boasts largest development team in Omega Force\u00a0history, with Dragon Quest Builder 2\u2019s game and art director on board\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>While\u00a0<strong>Pok\u00e9mon\u00a0Pokopia<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0core idea of creating your own\u00a0Pok\u00e9mon-filled\u00a0world was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-pokopia-creator-says-the-idea-came-from-his-rookie-days-placing-grass-on-the-map-at-game-freak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inspired by senior director Shigeru Ohmori\u2019s\u00a0experience\u00a0placing grass\u00a0on Pok\u00e9mon Ruby and Sapphire\u2019s maps<\/a>,\u00a0the\u00a0game\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0be what it is without Koei Tecmo\u2019s Omega Force.\u00a0Though\u00a0the division is best known for its work on\u00a0the Dynasty Warriors franchise,\u00a0several\u00a0Dragon Quest 2\u00a0developers, including\u00a0game director Takuto Edagawa and art director Marina Ayano, were brought onto the project to share their\u00a0expertise\u00a0in\u00a0creating\u00a0sandbox-style\u00a0life sims and crafting\u00a0titles\u00a0(source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.famitsu.com\/article\/202602\/66124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Famitsu<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to producer Kanako Murata, the decision to work with Koei Tecmo&nbsp;was made after the team saw&nbsp;Ohmori\u2019s&nbsp;game prototype and promotional video, the latter of which&nbsp;became the first trailer shown during last September\u2019s Nintendo Direct.&nbsp;Director Takuto Edagawa says that&nbsp;Ohmori\u2019s&nbsp;materials provided such a clear picture of the game\u2019s vision that Omega Force&nbsp;felt that they could contribute to the project and decided to collaborate with Game Freak.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia \u2013 Nintendo Direct 9.12.2025\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6_bYri9p1Uk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Though Edagawa did not&nbsp;disclose&nbsp;the exact number of Omega Force developers working on Pok\u00e9mon&nbsp;Pokopia, he did mention&nbsp;that it was one of the largest teams the division ever assembled to work on a title.&nbsp;With&nbsp;their number and&nbsp;Ohmori\u2019s&nbsp;materials, they worked closely with Game Freak to&nbsp;establish&nbsp;an aligned vision over the course of 3 to 4 months before&nbsp;commencing&nbsp;development&nbsp;in earnest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though\u00a0they\u00a0were\u00a0not given a fixed release date, development on Pok\u00e9mon\u00a0Pokopia\u00a0wrapped up relatively quickly. This was largely\u00a0thanks\u00a0to the alignment period, which allowed\u00a0all involved parties\u00a0to solve the game\u2019s core issues\u00a0and ideas\u00a0beforehand\u00a0(and even bring up some philosophical questions, such as why and how a Pok\u00e9mon develops trust with others).\u00a0Despite having never worked on the Pok\u00e9mon franchise, Edagawa and Ayano believe they have created something they can proudly deliver to Pok\u00e9mon fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pok\u00e9mon&nbsp;Pokopia&nbsp;is set to release on March 5 for Nintendo Switch 2.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-legends-z-as-vineyards-draw-comparisons-to-final-fantasy-14s-infamous-low-poly-grapes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A\u2019s vineyards draw comparisons to Final Fantasy 14\u2019s infamous \u201clow-poly\u201d grapes<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-the-first-movies-english-dub-criticized-in-japan-30-years-later-for-heavily-altered-dialogue-that-compromises-core-themes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pok\u00e9mon: The First Movie\u2019s English dub criticized in Japan 30 years later for heavily altered dialogue\u202fthat compromises core themes\u202f<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pokemon Pokopia director Takuto Edagawa says Koei Tecmo&#8217;s Omega Force has assembled its biggest dev team yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":57871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17,70],"class_list":["post-57867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news","tag-pokemon-series"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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