Pokemon Scarlet & Violet to include four-player co-op in series first

Among all the exciting new sights and sounds of the new Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trailer, four-player co-op has been confirmed for the upcoming entry in the storied franchise.

It’s that time of year when the hype for the previous Pokemon title begins to die down and the anticipation for the new-gen entry begins. Legends Arceus took the place of the mainline release introducing new species this time around, but 2022 will revert back to type with a traditional November dual-release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

The release trailer unveiled fresh faces, including the new legendaries, and also showed off the map, gyms, and much more. One of the most interesting elements of it came early on though and it might be a sign of how the Pokemon franchise conducts co-op multiplayer going forward.

The Pokemon Company

How will this first-time-ever feature be implemented?

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 4-player co-op confirmed

Partway through the official ‘Second Trailer’ for the new Pokemon games, the main player encounters what appears to be a regular NPC who utters the following words: “If you connect with friends, you can head out on adventures together – up to four of you at a time!”

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Now, this wouldn’t be the first time a Pokemon game had supported some kind of co-op feature as the possibility was first explored with the release of the Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! entries. You could have a second person join in the fun with you and explore the lands together as a team.

The Pokemon Company had this to say in an official press release: “andare the first open-world RPGs in the Pokémon series. Along with series staples, such as trading and battling Pokémon, players will be able to explore the various locations of the region in these games with up to four players.”

Check out the co-op inclusion in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet in the new trailer.

It’s unclear at this early juncture how Game Freak intends to incorporate co-op into Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

• Read More: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: All new Pokemon, including starters & legendaries

For the time being, we can only speculate, so we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s online-only, or whether you can have three friends join in locally to be the very best like no one ever was.