New Pokémon Rival Game Available For Free Right Now

Sep 16, 2026 - 10:20

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New Pokémon Rival Game Available For Free Right Now

An aerial shot of the Idyll continent from Aniimo.

Published Sep 16, 2026, 12:00 AM EDT

Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more.

A brand-new Pokémon rival game has just been made available, and it’s entirely free-to-play, so you may want to check it out. Competitors to Nintendo’s iconic franchise have been on the rise. Following the legal issues between Palworld and Pokémon, other creature-collecting titles have been announced, too. For example, HoYoverse, the creators of Genshin Impact, are working on Honkai Nexus Anima, a creature-collecting game set in the Honkai universe that will be free-to-play – though it will not feature the type of gameplay you’d expect.

However, these aren’t the only contenders in the industry right now. In fact, a new creature-collector game has just been released, and it’s completely free. Available on Steam, as well as other platforms like Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, the new title was released on September 15, at night, as can now be downloaded and played, alone or with friends. This new game looks promising for fans of the creature-collecting genre, so be sure to check it out if you enjoy Pokémon and other lookalike games.

Challenging the reign of Palworld, Aniimo is a new adventure game developed and published by Pawprint Studio. The free-to-play title is an open-world RPG experience that throws you into the continent of Idyll. Therein, you’ll connect yourself to titular Aniimo creatures, each of which unlocks different abilities for you. You’ll be to battle against other Aniimo and Pathfinders who have connected to Aniimo, and explore freely.

Aniimo mixes Zelda and Animal Crossing in the sense of open-world exploration, recruiting creature buddies, and a quirky 3D art style. Much like Palworld, this is an action-based RPG that has you challenging creatures in real-time. This means positioning and picking your moves on the go is of the utmost importance. This, however, is not a survival game like Palworld. Also, you won’t be shooting Aniimo with rifles.

A character from Aniimo stands on a cliff, overlooking the horizon.

As was implied, exploration is a pillar in Aniimo. As such, you’ll use different abilities acquired from your creatures to solve puzzles, reach new heights, and uncover secrets across the continent. This huge free open-world RPG also features multiplayer connectivity, meaning that you can embark on adventures and learn more about Idyll with your friends.

It is worth noting that the mobile version of this game arrives on September 23. Aniimo features both crossplay and cross-progression, meaning that you can play with friends regardless of their platform, and you can carry your save onto other platforms. This new Pokémon competitor is one of September’s biggest releases, and it may be here to stay for the long run.