Who made Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Eugene Bozhenko

Eugene Bozhenko

It’s an official game, powered by the creators of the original Pokémon series: TGC and classic RPGs.

The success of Pokémon TCG Pocket is based on quite a few factors: from the general quality of the game to cleverly adapted rules of the original trading card game for the casual audience.

But sure, one of the main powers here comes from the creatures. They may be cute, mighty, or even weird, but the core concept of collecting and battling Pokémon is just phenomenally great.

The Pokémon TCG Pocket developers are exactly the companies that blessed the world with this franchise. In this article, we highlight the game creators and talk about their role in the entire Pokémon game series.

Who made Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Three companies are behind the mobile game.

  • Creatures Inc. — Co-developer
  • DeNA — Co-developer
  • The Pokémon Company — Publisher

In general, these are the companies that power up the original Pokémon role-playing games (Creatures Inc. and The Pokémon Company) and a variety of Nintendo titles on mobile devices (DeNA). In the following sections, you’ll find some info on each of the Pokémon TCG Pocket creators.

Creatures Inc. and DeNA — the Pokémon TCG Pocket developers

Despite popular opinion, the Pokémon series does not belong to Nintendo. The original games were created by Game Freak Inc., and Nintendo was a publisher.

They reached amazing success with first games, and used the creative power of a partnering company to develop Pokémon spin-offs and help with the core series. Creatures Inc. is exactly this company.

Creatures Inc.

The developers from Creatures Inc. are creators of the original Pokémon Trading Card games: for Game Boy Color and Nintendo DS.

They made a variety of side games, such as Detective Pikachu and Pokémon Ranger. Also, Creatures Inc. participated in the development of some core games, specifically in the Pokémon modeling: Scarlet and Violet, Legends: Arceus, Sword and Shield, and others.

In the office of Creatures Inc. (image via creatures.co.jp)
In the office of Creatures Inc. (image via creatures.co.jp)

DeNA

This company plays a different role in the development process. As part of DeNA Co., Ltd., it creates mobile games within the Nintendo series. Some of their products are listed below.

  • Fire Emblem Heroes
  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
  • Mario Kart Tour

The role of DeNA in these gamess is to provide service infrastructure and integrate My Nintendo. The developers of DeNA partner with other companies for multiple tasks as well. As Pokémon TCG Pocket co-developer, DeNA surely participated in adapting the rules of Pokémon TCG Live to the mobile environment.

DeNA (image via dena.com)
DeNA (image via dena.com)

The Pokémon Company — the publishers of Pokémon TCG Pocket

Delivering a game to players is not only about creating images on the screens and code to power up the gameplay mechanics. The market realities require the involvement of brand management, marketing, licensing, etc. The Pokémon Company takes care of this for the entire franchise, including Pokémon TCG Pocket.

Specifically for this purpose, The Pokémon Company was created by Nintendo, Game Freak Inc., and Creatures Inc. In addition to publishing video games, the company manages processes around the Pokémon anime series, manga, and the live-action film Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

In the office of The Pokémon Company (Image via corporate.pokemon.co.jp)
In the office of The Pokémon Company (Image via corporate.pokemon.co.jp)

That’s all about the creators of Pokémon TCG Pocket. For everything else about this game, stick around on esports.gg!