Pokemon Company CEO Thinks Franchise Will Hit Its 100th Anniversary

The CEO of The Pokemon Company recently revealed that he believes the Pokemon franchise will reach its 100th anniversary. These positive comments come as Pokemon recently celebrated Pokemon Day 2025, unveiling many announcements to look forward to over the coming year.

As one of the most popular media franchises in the world, Pokemon has experienced incredible growth over the last few decades. While the franchise began on the Game Boy in 1996 with the release of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan, it quickly expanded in subsequent years. In addition to nine generations of mainline games and numerous spin-off titles, Pokemon has branched into anime, merchandise, and much more. Thanks to its far-reaching appeal, even most non-gamers are familiar with the franchise and its recognizable mascot, Pikachu. With the 29th anniversary of the franchise having recently happened, the company has shared an optimistic view of the future.

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In a recent interview with the BBC, Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokemon Company, revealed that the franchise could have many more years ahead of it. According to Ishihara, “If we continue focusing on our mission, Pokemon can probably continue to its 50th or 100th anniversary.” These predictions from the CEO seem viable, given the franchise’s success over the years. The mainline games continue to sell millions of copies, and mobile offerings like Pokemon TCG Pocket and Pokemon GO have been very popular. However, Ishihara warned of the dangers of complacency, saying the franchise could “go downhill” if they “go with the flow” instead of innovating on the brand.

Pokemon Has a Lot Planned for the Rest of 2025

These comments come as The Pokemon Company recently hosted a Pokemon Presents event. During the presentation, many significant announcements regarding the franchise were made. New content for existing games like Pokemon GO, Pokemon TCG Pocket, and Pokemon Unite were unveiled, and more episodes of Pokemon Concierge were announced for Netflix. In addition, the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A revealed a look at gameplay, revealing the starters and more. There was even a new game reveal in Pokemon Champions, a new PvP game focused on battling Pokemon.

With much of the roadmap for the rest of 2025 laid out, it will be interesting to see how successful The Pokemon Company is in the year ahead. While time will tell if the franchise makes it to its 100th anniversary, it looks like The Pokemon Company has no intentions of slowing down soon. As a result, Pokemon fans have lots to look forward to in the coming months.

Pokemon

Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
 

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Satoshi Tajiri