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Game Freak has announced a new laundry-based mobile game with Pokemon director Shigeru Ohmori leading this project.

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Obviously, Game Freak is best known for the Pokemon series, and until the recent release of Beast of Reincarnation, I wouldn't have been shocked if many people just didn't know the studio regularly releases games outside the franchise. For console releases, these usually manifest as smaller titles like HarmoKnight, Little Town Hero, and Tembo the Badass Elephant, but, as of late, the studio has released mobile games fairly frequently.

And this week it was revealed what's next for the studio before Pokemon Winds and Waves releases next year, with the announcement of "Ame no Chi Hare Onna." The game – co-developed by Chronogate – is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android in Japan, described as a "laundry game." It's directed by Ohmori, who has been the lead director of the Pokemon series since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire over a decade ago.

The title is set in modern-day Japan and follows Hare Onna and Kumorin, who can harness the weather and turn it into magic. This aspect is central to the game as the title is set to use real-world weather data as part of the gameplay loop. Granted, I'm not quite sure what that gameplay loop is right now, but thankfully there's more info revealed this week with a "Hare Onna Club Meeting" stream, as well as news at Tokyo Game Show.

But for now, you can watch the teaser trailer, which, if I didn't have the context, I would assume is the opening of a new anime series. But it's been forever since the Hideo Kojima-produced GBA title Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand released, so it's about time we had more weather-based games come out.

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Blizzard finally lifted the veil on World of Warcraft: Forever this past weekend at BlizzCon 2026, giving fans a taste of the official Classic+ (so to speak, anyway) that we're getting – one that apparently thankfully won't feature real-money currency like Tokens.

Clayton Stone, associate production director on WoW Classic, confirms as much in a recent interview on Forever with content creator Destin Legarie (below). The lead also says that there won't be any purchasable experience boosts, either.

He describes how Blizzard has "no plans for anything like a WoW token or a boost" in any online shop – and, even though I'm thankful myself, I do wonder why… but Stone says it's all about the "journey" to the top.

"The journey really is what the game is," he says. "I mean, the endgame is amazing… the endgame is epic. It's awesome. And, all the stuff we've done with the endgame is amazing, but the journey is so important and you play the game or you get better at the game by playing the game and it's all about that level 1 to 60 journey and the people you meet along the way."

That's why Blizzard is staying away from quick boosts.

"We've implemented these systems to really reinforce that because there's some players who just love that journey."

Honestly, I do get it, and while I'm thrilled at the prospect of less microtransactions (if you can call Tokens that, I guess), I am a bit worried that this decision won't, well, last forever.

I'm not alone in my concerns, either, as folks over on Twitter discuss World of Warcraft: Forever's lack of Tokens and what it might mean.

"'No plans' doesn't seem too convincing or permanent to me," reads one comment. "I'm still pretty sure they will be in the game sooner or later." Another speculates, "No plans is basically 'next year,'" while various replies similarly ponder whether Blizzard's choice of words here could pave the way for such real-money purchases later down the line.

There are also some worries about bots and the like, which are more than understandable.

So, how will this all play out? There's no way to really tell until World of Warcraft: Forever releases this November, but I've got my fingers crossed that Blizzard is indeed making the right move… and will stick with it, too.

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