As this year has proven, you don’t necessarily need a giant development team to make an incredible video game. Sure, you can have a massive squad and make an epic title. Or, you can have a group of about 30 or fewer and create a couple of Game of the Year nominees. It just depends on the situation. For Pokemon Legends Z-A, the “situation” was simple: fans didn’t want a repeat of Gen 9, where the game was buggy at launch and didn’t make use of its full potential. By most accounts, the game is doing really well, especially on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The reason for this may slowly be getting revealed. As Insider Stealth noted on Blue Sky, it wasn’t just Game Freak working on the project. It was multiple teams coming together to make it happen:
Creek & River Co. was a partner studio on Pokemon Legends Z-AI didn't realize how many games they've helped out on:- Xenoblade Definitive Edition- Xenoblade 2- Pokémon Sun/Moon, Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet, Legends: Arceus- Fire Emblem Three Hopes- Live a Live HD-2D Remake- Sonic Frontiers
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-10-19T23:11:15.709Z
Artdink confirmed that they worked on Pokemon Legends Z-A as a support studio. They've also recently worked on Dragon Quest I/II/III HD-2D Remake for Square Enix.
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-10-19T22:21:05.678Z
Furthermore, given that Pokemon Legends Z-A has been out for several days now, some people have already blasted through it, and it revealed some key people who worked on the game:
Haruka Tochigi directed Pokemon Legends Z-A. This is the first game he's directed with Ohmori as Senior Director. He started his career at Level 5 working on Professor Layton, then moved to Game Freak.History: Ruby/Alpha Remakes, Sun/Moon, Legends Arceus, Scarlet/Violet.
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-10-19T21:12:26.757Z
Eight composers and Two musicians worked on Pokemon Legends Z-A:Composers:Minako AdachiHiromitsu MaebaCarlos EieneShinji HosoeAyako SasoTakahiro EguchiHitomi SatoShota KageyamaMusicians:Sorao MoriYasu nakajima
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-10-20T00:22:30.280Z
So, why does this all matter? As the saying goes, “Many hands make light work.” Or, in the gaming sense, “many hands can ensure quality doesn’t slip through the cracks.” Granted, that isn’t always the case, but it does appear to feel right with this title.
Thus, if it worked here with the new Kalos title, it gives us hope for what’s coming with Gen 10.
Source: Blue Sky
