Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will include four-player co-op in addition to its regular trading and battling multiplayer.
Announced on the games' website following the unveiling of its release date in a new trailer, Scarlet and Violet promise "a deeper experience with multiplayer gameplay".
"You will be able to explore the various locations of the region in these games with other players," the site reads. "You can discover new Pokémon and explore unfamiliar areas with your friends and family, opening the door to an adventure more previous and fun than ever."
While details haven't been offered – we don't know if there are specific multiplayer areas, for example – the move would seem to go hand-in-hand with the games' more open structure. Scarlet and Violet will be open world games, and players will be able to visit areas in any order, without the story gating progress. The trailer (above) seems to back this up as a feature of multiplayer, seemingly showing four players in a single game, exploring very different areas simultaneously.
It's not clear how traditional multiplayer elements like trading and battling will be be affected by co-op either. It seems very possible that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may allow players to join each other's games not just to explore, but also battle and trade in-person. However, we do seem to see remote trading taking place in the trailer, too.
While there's plenty more still to discover, including basic gameplay elements that have the community divided, IGN will have full coverage of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet between now and its November 18 release date.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.