Pokémon Gamma Emerald Arrives August 15

There is so much to love about the third Generation of Pokémon. The Hoenn region is vast, and you can explore it in ways you could never do in older Pokémon games, or even some since. The freedom of flight is one of the big reasons why people remember Hoenn so fondly, and there’s something special about taking to the skies in a way the series never had before.

A lot of staple Pokémon that are popular to this day are also from the third Generation, not to mention Rayquaza, who is one of the most iconic legendaries Game Freak has designed to date. The creature is hosting multiple TCG sets this year (one in the physical TCG and one in TCG Pocket), a LEGO set, and was featured in the DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Thanks to a brand-new update on X, we know that Pokémon Gamma Emerald is coming way sooner than anyone expected. In fact, it’ll be ready for release this weekend, and even the launch time is fully lined up.

According to Pokémon Gamma Emerald‘s creator UndreamedPanic, Early Access for the fan project will be on August 15 at 10AM AM CDT on the game’s official site. Gamma Emerald is a new adventure that sees you crashing into a mysterious island during a storm, directly between Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Team Magma will be present to join in on the adventure, as will enemy Mercenaries, looking to “take the secrets and power” of the island for themselves. Puzzles are incorporated to help mix things up in the campaign, and there’s a brand-new OST, original assets and animations, and Legendary Pokémon.

A “showcase demo” is available now if you’re so inclined, or you can wait 24 hours and experience the Early Access build. It’s a standalone experience compared to the upcoming Early Access period, so it might even be worth playing separately.

The creator has also clarified a few key questions from the community, like the fact that there won’t be any Megas involved because they would “contradict the story,” and that Pokémon Gamma Emerald will not be available on mobile devices. It’s not an RPG Maker or ROM hack project: instead, it’s an Unreal Engine fan game.

It also isn’t going to support multiplayer at the moment, but UndreamedPanic doesn’t rule it out entirely: “First, I need to make sure the EA release does well, similar to the test to release the demo of the earlier version.”

Even if you missed out on the third Generation of Pokémon entirely, this is a perfect chance to dive in and see what the Hoenn-adjacent region has to offer.