Pokémon developers Game Freak will release their brand-new IP, Beast of Reincarnation, this summer. Get the key reveals from Xbox Developer Direct 2026 and insights from game director Furushima.
Beast of Reincarnation: “One-Person, One-Dog Action RPG”
Isolation Meets Flora and Fauna in Post-Apocalyptic Japan
Beast of Reincarnation, an upcoming action RPG title by the creators of Pokémon, GAME FREAK, is slated for a summer 2026 release window. Xbox Developer Direct 2026 provided a closer look at the characters Emma and Koo, as they battle corrupted creatures in post-apocalyptic Japan.
First announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2025, Beast of Reincarnation leads players on a journey with a shunned human girl named Emma and her companion Koo through 4026 AD Japan. The land is filled with "blight"-afflicted, overgrown forests and corrupted beasts called "Malefacts." Emma and Koo also have "blight" in their bodies, giving them unique abilities to fight bosses known as "Nushi" and absorb their power. Ultimately, they face off against the Beast of Reincarnation itself.
According to the reveal, the "one-person, one-dog action RPG" creates its own sense of turn-based combat by blending Emma's fast-paced gameplay with Koo's command support, allowing players to formulate a strategy during that brief window. Emma has her katana for close-range fighting and other weapons, such as bows and crossbows, for long-range attacks. Meanwhile, Koo can use plant-based attacks called "bloom arts."
Moreover, game director Kota Furushima noted that the game invites players to personalize their play styles to suit their unique preferences. Firstly, players can choose from three difficulty settings: Story, Normal, and Hard Modes. Equipable items, Spirit Stones, bestow different effects depending on how a player fights. Additionally, each katana for Emma and Charm for Koo have been hinted to have their own "specialized bonuses."
Director Furushima Says They’re Focusing on Game Experience
In a recent interview with IGN, Furushima addressed concerns about whether GAME FREAK could pull off Beast of Reincarnation's visuals and performance, as seen in the trailers, given the criticisms of their other 3D open-world titles. He clarified that his team approached the RPG as a "very specific game experience," rather than perceiving it as "a title of a certain level of quality."
"Part of that, of course, is making sure that it performs really well," he explained, "but our attention is more on getting the experience over to you and making sure that our vision can get to your hands and your hearts."
To convey the intended effects on the players, he added that the music score integrated "the loneliness and despair of the world" being destroyed, and the warmth of Emma's friendship with Koo, despite treating other Malefacts like him as enemies. Moreover, Furushima confirmed that the players can pet the dog.
It was six years ago when Furushima first pitched Beast of Reincarnation to Gear Project, GAME FREAK's internal contest for original IP outside of Pokémon. The game was tentatively dubbed Project Bloom, for publishing under Take-Two Interactive's Private Division, until Fictions bought the indie label in 2024.
"It is very important to GAME FREAK to keep taking on the challenge of creating original games," GAME FREAK's Development Department 1 general manager, Masafumi Saito, once said in a 2023 interview with VGC.
Other non-Pokémon games produced through GAME FREAK's Gear Project are the metroidvania and physics-based puzzle game Giga Wrecker, the 2D side-scroller Tembo the Badass Elephant, and the rhythm game HarmoKnight. Like Beast of Reincarnation—and, unlike Pokémon—they are not exclusive to Nintendo.
Beast of Reincarnation is an action-adventure RPG launching in Summer 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below.
Source:
Beast of Reincarnation | Xbox Developer_Direct 2026
Beast of Reincarnation: A One-Person, One-Dog Action RPG
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2023 Interview with Masafumi Saito
