Private Divisionhas justannounced a partnership with Game Freak– the creator of the popular Pokemon franchise – to develop a new action-adventure game tentatively called Project Bloom. The game is set to release in three years on current-gen consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S (Nintendo Switch was not mentioned in the press release).

Excerpts from the statements provided by Game Freak director Kota Furushima and Private Division head Michael Worosz reveal that the new IP will have a “bold and tonally” different vibe than anything the company has worked on before. Worosz also says that the new IP is expected to launch during Take-Two’s fiscal year 2026 (Private Division is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software).

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Furushima’s statement notes that Game Freak had specifically chosen Private Division as its preferred publisher from the start, and Worosz expresses his enthusiasm for the partnership as well, stating that Private Division is fully committed to unleashing the potential of Game Freak as the first Western publisher it has the pleasure of working with.

Private Division has a track record of delivering some of the most passionate games to date, such asThe Outer Worlds,Hades, OlliOlli World, and Rollerdrome, so it is clear that the upcoming game is in capable hands. Other developers seem to be taking notice of Private Division as well these days, as the latter already has publishing deals with Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest) and Wētā Workshop (unannounced Middle-Earth game), and there are about 4-5 other unannounced titles with other studios as well, fueling more speculations about this newfound attention to this specific publisher amidst everyone else.

The answer to this mystery might be found inGame Informer’s old inside storyabout this rising publisher. It says that the ethos of Take-Two’s publishing label Private Division is basically to find smaller teams of experienced developers with great ideas, fund their projects, and even let them keep the rights to the IP. Keeping IP rights is probably the main reason why the label was able to bring together the creators of theFalloutseries to work on their new project (The Outer Worlds), as well as attract the attention of Game Freak.

In addition to this – according to Game Informer – Private Division allows for creative freedom and a mutually beneficial relationship that’s less rigid than major AAA publishers, and Worosz himself said that no one on the Take-Two management team will ever tell them how a game should look, feel, or play, leaving all the creativity to the team actually working on the game, which is something the creator of the iconic Pokemon franchise probably found very fitting for its passionate and free approach to gaming.

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