Koei Tecmo's ambitions for Pokémon Pokopia were never modest. In a wide-ranging interview with Famitsu, company president and CEO Hisashi Koinuma revealed that the developer had set itself the goal of making Pokopia the best-selling Pokémon spin-off game of all time - long before the title shipped.
"From among our spin-off titles I do feel a strong sense of accomplishment. We did work with the aim to make it the best selling spin-off game, but before launch there weren't any real expectations (laughs). However, directly ahead of launch, lots of overseas media played it and rated it very highly, and then I felt it spread from there."
The candid admission underlines how dramatically the game's trajectory shifted in the weeks before its March 5, 2026 launch. Upon release, Pokopia received highly positive reviews from critics, being one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 at the time of release and the highest-rated Pokémon game on the review aggregate Metacritic.
The Record in Sight
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team are currently the highest-selling spin-offs at 5.85 million copies. That is the bar Koei Tecmo needs to clear - and the sales pace suggests it may already have done so.
Global sales of Pokémon Pokopia surpassed 2.2 million units - including 1 million units sold in Japan - in the first four days since its worldwide launch. Over four million copies were sold through the first five weeks, with that information shared at the start of May, meaning the total is definitely higher today.
With just under 20 million Switch 2 consoles sold at that point, nearly one in every five Switch 2 owners picked up a copy of Pokopia.
Dragon Quest Builders Laid the Groundwork
Koinuma also used the Famitsu interview to explain how years of collaboration experience made Koei Tecmo ready for a project of this scale. When asked whether Pokopia represented ideal fertile ground for spin-off work, he pointed directly to an earlier partnership:
"In the past when we worked with Square Enix on Dragon Quest Builders 2, we experimented with trial and error to see if the crafting elements that our company makes could be smoothly added to the game. I think that because of that experience the Omega Force brand has been able to grow its area of expertise beyond the Warriors series and into crafting games."
As Game Freak lacked experience in the sandbox game genre, Koei Tecmo's Omega Force was chosen to co-develop the title alongside them on recommendation from The Pokémon Company, as Omega Force had previously worked on similar titles such as Dragon Quest Builders 2. Ohmori served as the concept and senior director of the game, while Omega Force director Takuto Edagawa served as chief director.
The game itself is a notable departure from Pokémon's battle-centric roots. Pokémon Pokopia is the first slow-paced life simulation game in the Pokémon franchise, co-developed by The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, and Koei Tecmo. Players control a Ditto that has transformed to look like a human, collecting materials and crafting items to create a home and welcoming environment for Pokémon friends, with in-game time synchronized to the real world.
Expansion Pass Incoming
The momentum is set to continue post-launch. Pokémon Pokopia is set to receive a new update and the first part of its Expansion Pass DLC in August.
| Milestone | Figure |
|---|---|
| First-day launch date | March 5, 2026 |
| First 4-day sales | 2.2 million units |
| Japan 4-day sales | 1 million units |
| First 5-week sales | 4 million+ units |
| Spin-off record to beat | 5.85 million (Mystery Dungeon RBR) |
| DLC Part 1 window | August 2026 |
Buy Pokémon Pokopia
Live deal tracker
Pokémon Pokopia is available now for Nintendo Switch 2, with copies currently listed at AU$76.94 - check the chart below for price history.
The story of Pokopia is, in part, a story about genre expertise compounding over time. Koei Tecmo's Omega Force built crafting credibility through Dragon Quest Builders 2, then applied it to one of gaming's most beloved IP. The result looks almost certain to become the highest-selling Pokémon spin-off ever made - a goal the team set quietly before launch, with a laugh, and is now on the verge of achieving.
