Longtime Pokémon Director Officially Blacklisted From Making New Games

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Junichi Masuda, a veteran developer, is said to no longer be directing games in the series.

According to a report from the fan account CentroLeaks, Junichi Masuda is no longer directing *Pokémon* video games. This change reportedly happened after disagreements within Game Freak, culminating in a confrontation with art director Ken Sugimori. Sources say this occurred during the development of *Pokémon X* and *Y*, and led to a decision that Masuda would no longer lead game development.

Junichi Masuda has been involved with the Pokémon series since its start. He first became a sub-director with the release of *Gold* and *Silver* in 1999, and then took on the role of director for *Pokémon Crystal* in 2000. He went on to direct several other main series games, including *FireRed* and *LeafGreen*, *Diamond* and *Pearl*, *Black* and *White*, and *X* and *Y*. Since *X* and *Y*, Masuda has worked as a producer, musician, supervisor, and design advisor. However, his directing credits since then have been limited to remakes and spin-off titles like *Brilliant Diamond* and *Shining Pearl*.

Pokémon fans are excited for the upcoming release of *Pokémon Legends: Z-A* on October 16th for both the Nintendo Switch and the new Switch 2. This game is the second in the *Legends* series, following *Pokémon Legends: Arceus*, and continues the story from the *Pokémon X* and *Y* games that came out in 2013.

Haruka Tochigi is directing a new Pokémon adventure set in Lumiose City, in the Kalos region. Instead of traditional turn-based battles, this game will feature a different kind of experience, with exciting encounters against wild Pokémon, challenging Trainers, and mysterious threats.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Will Give Players a Whole New Way to Battle

At the Pokémon World Championships in August, a new battle mode coming to Pokémon Legends: Z-A was revealed. This mode lets four players battle each other simultaneously in a free-for-all – a first for the Pokémon series.

Battle Club matches will last three minutes, and the player who defeats the most Pokémon during that time will win. Although similar to the Battle Royal mode in *Pokémon Sun* and *Moon*, the differences in how battles work and other details make Battle Club a unique experience.

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2025-10-15 02:43