Pokémon’s 30th anniversary is getting a decidedly less portable tribute in 2027. The Pokémon Company and Fender have revealed two electric guitars built around the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games: the Made in Japan Pokémon Red Version Stratocaster Electric Guitar and the Made in Japan Pokémon Green Version Telecaster Electric Guitar.
Both instruments are planned for release in 2027, while preorders are expected to open soon. No price, precise preorder date, regional availability, or fuller specification sheet was included with the reveal, so prospective buyers should be careful not to fill in those blanks themselves. For now, the confirmed picture is two anniversary-branded Fender models with distinct Red and Green identities, classic Fender body formats, and a particularly game-minded audio feature.
Two familiar Fender shapes, built around Red and Green
The Red Version is a Stratocaster, while the Green Version is a Telecaster. That distinction is meaningful even before getting into the Pokémon designs: the two names denote separate Fender guitar models rather than alternate colors of one single instrument. The collaboration is using both formats to frame the two original game versions as individual pieces.
Visually, the guitars combine Fender’s established styling with old-school Pokémon pixel art. Pixel art is imagery assembled from deliberately visible, block-like picture elements, an approach closely associated with the era of the original games. It is a fitting direction for an anniversary project rooted in Pokémon Red and Green, and it keeps the callback focused on the games rather than treating Pokémon as a generic character logo.
There is also a special neck plate commemorating Pokémon’s 30th anniversary and the Fender collaboration. The neck plate is the hardware plate at the guitar’s neck joint; here, it is specifically being used as an anniversary marker. That is a small component in physical terms, but it gives the collaboration a dedicated identifying detail beyond the exterior art.
The unusual detail: an 8-bit audio toggle
The most intriguing confirmed feature is a toggle described as shifting the guitar to 8-bit audio. The companies present it as a retro-minded effect intended to evoke the sound world of an early Game Boy. In simple terms, a toggle is a physical switch: rather than being merely decorative, this one is described as changing the instrument’s audio output.
“8-bit” is commonly used as shorthand for the bright, synthetic and deliberately limited sound associated with early video-game hardware. It is also an easy term to use imprecisely. The announcement establishes the intended nostalgic result, but it does not explain the circuitry, effect design, signal routing, controls, or exact behavior of the toggle. Players interested in how closely it recreates a particular game-system character will need to wait for technical details rather than assuming more than has been confirmed.
That uncertainty matters because a guitar effect can be central to how an instrument is used. A cosmetic collaboration can live on a wall, in a display case, or on a stand. An audio feature creates a different expectation: that the Pokémon reference can also be part of a performance or recording setup. Whether the 8-bit mode is subtle, extreme, flexible, or a fixed sound is not yet known. The announcement supports the concept, not a complete assessment of its practical range.
Related coverage includes Pokémon and Fender Set Red and Green Anniversary Guitars for 2027.
Why the original-game focus makes sense
The timing is the point. These models are being created to mark 30 years since Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. Rather than centering a current game, the collaboration reaches back to the releases that established the Red-and-Green pairing at the heart of Pokémon’s identity.
That pairing gives the project more structure than a single commemorative finish. The Stratocaster and Telecaster split the celebration into two complementary models, echoing the two versions without claiming they are identical. For fans, that could make the choice feel personal: Red and Green are not only colors here, but the names of the games being honored.
It also means the collaboration lands at an intersection of game nostalgia, music gear, and physical Pokémon merchandise. Those are overlapping audiences, but they will not necessarily approach the guitars in the same way. Some buyers may be guitar players drawn to the promise of a retro-style sound. Some may be Pokémon fans primarily interested in an unusual anniversary object. Others may simply appreciate the old-school pixel-art direction. The information released so far leaves room for all three readings.
For collectors, the distinction between confirmed and unconfirmed information is especially useful. “Made in Japan,” the Red Version Stratocaster name, the Green Version Telecaster name, the 2027 release window, pixel-art aesthetics, the anniversary neck plate, and the 8-bit audio toggle are all part of the announced package. Production quantities, pricing, retailer allocation, case contents, and any model-specific technical specifications have not been provided. It is better to treat those points as unknown than as implied.
A 2027 Pokémon calendar is already taking shape
The guitars are one part of a broader set of Pokémon developments currently pointed toward 2027. The animated film Pokémon: Wild Card has also been announced for 2027. Meanwhile, Pokémon Unite is scheduled to close on Nintendo Switch and mobile on March 23, 2027, after its final competition, Aeos Crown 2027.
Those items are not directly connected to Fender’s instruments, but together they show how broad Pokémon’s 2027 presence may be: a film on one side, the end of a competitive mobile-and-console game on another, and now a pair of anniversary guitars rooted in the earliest games. Pokémon Pokopia has also been a major Nintendo Switch 2 release this year, keeping the series active in the present while the Fender collaboration turns toward its pixel-era past.
The retro angle is notable because it is not limited to old games themselves. Hardware, accessories, and new devices often use familiar visual languages to summon a particular era. For another recent example of how contemporary gear can lean into classic handheld aesthetics, see this retro-focused handheld hardware update. Fender’s Pokémon models take that nostalgia in a different direction: not by recreating a console, but by putting a game-era visual and sonic reference into a playable instrument.
What buyers should watch for next
The next update that matters is the preorder opening. Since “soon” has been given without a calendar date, there is no confirmed countdown to follow yet. A fuller product listing may also clarify the intended markets, final design details, specifications for each guitar, and precisely what the 8-bit toggle does.
Until then, the appeal is clear even if the specifications are still incomplete. Pokémon and Fender are not presenting an ordinary branded accessory. They are planning two full electric guitars named after Red and Green, designed with pixel-art nostalgia, fitted with a 30th-anniversary neck plate, and equipped with a switch meant to push their sound toward 8-bit territory. For a franchise born in handheld games, that is a very loud way to celebrate 30 years.
