Monolith Soft is now 100% Nintendo-owned, according to its website. This full acquisition of the Xenoblade developer means that a possible full trilogy release of the Xenoblade series might be in line for the Nintendo Switch 2 or a possible Pokemon game using the Xenoblade engine.
While Nintendo previously owned the majority of shares in Monolith Soft, the development studio only worked as support development for many Nintendo IPs such as Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda, and Splatoon.
click to enlargeNow that Nintendo owns 100% of Monolith Soft, the possibility of Monolith Soft developing a Pokemon game alongside Game Freak is something many Pokemon fans would certainly love to see. While Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were charming and unique in their own rights, the latest Pokemon games were janky and many consider them to be inferior to Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Pokemon Legends: ZA is currently being developed by Game Freak and will release next year. Considering that the game will already be released in less than 12 months, Monolith Soft will possibly have to move on to the next Pokemon game should Nintendo decide to have them as support development for the said franchise.
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Monolith Soft will release Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition in 2025. The majority of the Xenoblade games on the Nintendo Switch were positively received, with many anticipating how Monolith Soft will overhaul Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Nintendo Switch.
Fans of both Monolith Soft and Nintendo are looking forward to seeing Pokemon in the Xenoblade engine. However, while Monolith Soft already provided developmental support for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, it doesn't exactly mean that these games used the Xenoblade engine.
Implementing a much better open world for a Pokemon game would be fantastic for the next mainline games, and Monolith Soft can surely help with that considering their fantastic work in the Xenoblade Chronicles series.
Whether you want to have a Xenoblade Trilogy release next year or a better Pokemon game, be sure to stay updated with the latest gaming news and stories by following Gfinity Esports.
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