Game Freak has announced Ame no Chi Hare Onna, a new free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android built around laundry and real-world weather. The project is being jointly developed with CHRONOGATE and is planned for release in Japan, with Game Freak describing it officially as a “laundry game.” No exact launch date has been announced.
Ame no Chi Hare Onna is designed around the idea that tomorrow’s weather can become part of the game. According to Game Freak’s announcement, real-world weather will affect various aspects of the experience, with the game connecting to weather forecasts from across Japan. The studio says the goal is to create a daily game experience closely tied to players’ everyday lives rather than treating weather as a purely cosmetic system.
The game takes place in modern-day Japan and follows a magical girl known as Hare Onna, whose real name is Himawari Harewatari. She can transform weather into power and use it to lift people’s spirits. Her partner is Pon Arai, a Kumorin described as a messenger of the gods who grants Hare Onna her abilities, with the pair traveling across Japan and helping bring brightness to the people they encounter.
Hiyori Kono voices Himawari, while Yuki Nagano voices Pon. Himawari was designed by Aki Minamino, while Game Freak’s Kyoko Abe designed Pon. Game Freak has also released the first key visual and teaser video, although the company has not yet provided a detailed breakdown of how the laundry systems themselves will function during gameplay.
The project is being directed and produced by Shigeru Ohmori, one of Game Freak’s most prominent developers. Ohmori has served as a director on multiple Pokémon titles and is also credited as concept and senior director on Pokémon Pokopia. His involvement makes Ame no Chi Hare Onna a notable original project for Game Freak outside the studio’s best-known franchise.
CHRONOGATE is participating as Game Freak’s development partner, with the two companies working together on the mobile title. The game will be free to start with optional in-app purchases, and its currently announced release territory and language are limited to Japan and Japanese. Game Freak has not announced whether an international version or additional languages are planned.
More information will arrive quickly following the reveal. Game Freak is hosting the first official “Hare Onna Club Meeting” broadcast on September 14 at 7 PM JST, where the development team will discuss the origins of the project and its world alongside the game’s voice actors. Weathernews is also involved with the broadcast, which will be hosted from the Weathernews studio.
The game will then receive further attention at Tokyo Game Show 2026, running from September 17 through September 21 at Makuhari Messe. Game Freak has confirmed that Ame no Chi Hare Onna will have a presence at the event, with additional information about its exhibition plans expected during the September 14 livestream. That should provide a clearer idea of how its unusual combination of laundry, magical-girl storytelling and live weather data actually works in practice.
For now, Ame no Chi Hare Onna stands out as an unusual addition to Game Freak’s portfolio. Rather than another traditional RPG, the studio is experimenting with a mobile concept tied directly to real-world conditions and everyday routines. Its winter launch in Japan will be the first opportunity to see whether that weather-connected approach can support the kind of recurring daily play experience Game Freak is promising.
