Yesterday, on February 27, the Pokémon franchise celebrated its 29th anniversary, and as tradition dictates, the company shared major news and updates. It also unveiled new trailers for highly anticipated titles and even announced a brand-new game in the series.
As always, the announcements were presented as video premieres, a format similar to a short live broadcast, on the franchise’s main YouTube channels. The excitement was so overwhelming that Pokémon’s Japanese channel became the clear leader in live viewership in early 2025, surpassing even Sony’s PlayStation channel, which had hosted the massively successful State of Play.
Hosted by Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pokémon Company, the Pokémon Presents broadcast revealed upcoming updates for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. It also provided news on the digital card games Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket and Pokémon Trading Card Game.
One of the two biggest reveals was a new trailer for the highly anticipated Pokémon Legends: Z-A for Nintendo Switch. The video showcased additional characters and locations from Lumiose City, where the game’s story unfolds.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the announcement of Pokémon Champions, a game that "brings everything you love about Pokémon battles into one place."
According to the developers, the game will offer a fresh take on familiar mechanics, aiming to engage both long-time fans of the series and newcomers alike. One of its standout features will be cross-platform play, allowing users on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices to compete against each other.
Additionally, there were announcements of minor updates, as well as information on title localizations for different languages.
Pokémon Presents generated unprecedented hype in the livestreaming world. While 2025 has already seen numerous gaming showcases and major announcements for popular titles like Brawl Stars, the reveals from Pokémon Day attracted significantly more viewers.
The broadcasts took place on the franchise’s main Japanese and English-language YouTube channels, both of which ranked among the top five Gaming channels of the year so far. Notably, the Japanese channel nearly hit 950,000 concurrent viewers, surpassing PlayStation’s State of Play showcase by more than 77%.
Overall, as of early 2025, the Gaming section on YouTube is dominated by major company channels that have broadcast franchise updates or esports events. Notably, three VTubers also made it into the top rankings, while among traditional livestreamers, Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. showed the best performance.
Want full YouTube livestream statistics, including detailed category breakdowns and in-depth data on individual channels? Check out the benefits of a Streams Charts PRO subscription.
The previous leader, the PlayStation channel, made waves in the first half of February with the highly anticipated State of Play showcase. For the first time in its history, the event surpassed 2 million concurrent viewers (including all streams and watch parties). You can read more about it here.
