Fans of the decades-old Pokémon franchise are counting the company to give them two new Pokémon related games for 2016.  The first is a game that hasn't even been announced yet, with the fans working title of Pokémon Z (a follow-up to the popular Pokémon X and Y released in 2013). There hasn't been any information on that game save rumors, but Pokémon GO, a location-based game for mobile platforms iOS and Android, where players can literally go places to find, capture, and train new Pokémon, could be out soon.  This is the latest on the Pokémon Z and Pokémon GO release date. 

As far as the release date for the games, Pokémon has not said when these games will be coming out.  Rumors seem to point at a February launch, which is only a month away. However, there seems to be another rumor saying that the release date could be as late as May. 

The release date for Pokémon GO would definitely line up with the release date of the 20th anniversary of Pokémon Red and Green. The Latin Post brings up an interesting point as it states that Pokémon GO is a very ambitious game.  After all, it involves the looking in real-life for Pokémon, and there hasn't really been a lot of information given from the game, and this includes not a single screenshot. However, a report from The Bit Bag reveals that the location-based game is currently in Beta, which is a good sign.

As for Pokémon Z, we previously mentioned that this game hasn't been announced yet, so don't expect it anytime soon.  While it is likely that the game will be announced in the first half of 2016, it might be until the end of 2016 when it is actually released.  The pattern for Nintendo is to announce a new Pokémon title and then release it five months later. 

There has been very little information about Pokémon Z other than that which we have reported on before.  That is that CoroCoro magazine revealed that certain shots of the monster from Pokémon Z revealed that there will be certain forms of Zygarde, and one of them will be a 50 percent form, with another full form having two colors on its wings.  It is possible that Zygarde is some kind of fusion of two beings, which is similar to something out of Pokémon X &Y. 

There is also a rumor that those who purchase Pokémon Z will be able to get Pokémon GO for free.  This would mean that the two games would have a simultaneous release date, making certain that Pokémon has a banner year in 2016.