Explore / The IP and its owners
Company
Game Freak
Private studio that created Pokémon and develops the mainline games. A co-founder and co-owner of TPC; its stake is not disclosed.
In numbers
3.7× Creatures’ profit over the most that fees for its work would leave, year to March 2020, our estimate Creatures year to March 2020
¥1.6bn Game Freak net profit, year to March 2015 Year to March 2015
¥10.0bn Game Freak retained earnings, March 2015 Year to March 2015
242 Game Freak staff, June 2025 Jun 2025
Why it matters Game Freak builds the games Nintendo sells, and nobody has published what share of TPC it owns.
Connections
2 connections have terms that aren’t disclosed.
Around it
Receives royalties from
- The Pokémon Company Not disclosed TPC is Game Freak's main customer, but no royalty, licence fee or development-fee terms have been found.
What it does
Owns
- The Pokémon Company Not disclosed A co-founder and owner, but the stake is not disclosed.
- Pokémon IP (characters, copyrights, trademarks) On record Trademark and copyright co-owner; share not stated.
Develops
- Mainline Pokémon video games On record Develops the mainline games; TPC is its main customer.