The Pokémon Company says that Pokémon Sleep, the video-game-meets-sleep-tracker that champions the glorious art of snoozing, will finally launch on iOS and Android devices in summer this year.
Why is that notable? Well, it’s been almost four years since Pokémon Sleep was announced, and we’ve barely heard a peep about the title in that time, leading some to question whether it would ever actually see the light of day.
Showcasing the project in a Pokémon Presents showcase earlier today, the Japanese company described Pokémon Sleep as a game that “makes you look forward to waking up in the morning.”
Snorlax used Rest!
Pokémon Sleep will apparently do that by measuring, recording, and analyzing the sleep patterns of players—who can ensure that data is captured by leaving their smartphone by their bed—and categorizing them into one of three sleep types: dozing, snoozing, or slumbering.
Pokémon that share the same sleep type will then gather around a Snorlax that’s resting on a small island, allowing players to help Professor Neroli (a Pokémon sleep researcher) learn more about the sleep styles of different pocket monsters.
“Enjoy going to sleep and waking up each day,” is essentially the core gameplay loop in play here, suggesting that everyone will be forced to play on hard mode.
It’ll also be possible to play Pokémon Sleep (and Pokémon Go) with a new device called the Pokémon Go Plus +. The Pokéball-shaped accessory contains an eternally trapped Pikachu that can sing lullabies to players, and will apparently grow friendlier the more players sleep next to it.
In Pokémon Go, the peripheral can be used to automatically spin PokéStops and throw Pokéballs at wild ‘mons, but there are plans in place to add new features that will allow Pokémon Go to leverage sleep data from Pokémon Sleep.
It’ll be fascinating to see how many people download and stick with Pokémon Sleep for the long haul, with the franchise having already found success within the mobile market with the likes of Pokémon Go, Pokemon Masters, Pokémon Unite, and Pokémon Café ReMix.