Yes, you read that title right - Gamefreak, the developer most well-known for the juggernaut Pokemon franchise, has published a title on Steam. The title, GIGA WRECKER, isn't the first time that the developer has released a game on the platform - that would be Tembo The Badass Elephant, which was published by SEGA - but today's news is the first time that the company has self-published a game on PC. The title released as an Early Access title earlier today. For now, the title retails for $14.99 or your regional equivalent, though the price will rise as the game continues through Early Access up to release.

GIGA WRECKER is a puzzle action-platformer that seems to revolve around the main character's ability to take debris and reshape it into various objects, allowing her to battle enemies and traverse the game's environments. The game features a much more mature artstyle than what Gamefreak is usually known for, and definitely appears to stray from what the companies recent portfolio quite a bit. The game will eventually feature a "6 hour story mode" once the game is fully released outside of Early Access, though the game features "1 1/2 hours" of levels right now, as well as a level editor and Steam Workshop support (the level editor will receive updates over time, including throughout early access). Gamefreak has pledged that they will be taking feedback on the game's Steam Community forums.

GIGA WRECKER is currently available on Steam for Windows PC in Early Access. The title has a loose January 2017 projected full release, although it may apparently change depending on how development proceeds.

Quick Take

Well, that seemed to come out of nowhere. Fans of the company should have noticed that Gamefreak have been releasing a lot more games that aren't just Pokemon recently, but even then I don't think anyone would've expected the company to start self-publishing titles on Steam - let alone Early Access. From what I've seen so far GIGA WRECKER looks pretty interesting, though no matter what happens watching the game evolve, and seeing how Gamefreak manages to take comments from the eventual community should be something to behold.