Mobile version of Pokemon Shuffle in the works

Free-to-play 3DS title Pokemon Shuffle is to receive a release on smartphones.

Pokmon Shuffle Mobile is in development now and is due for release by the end of the year. It will, like the console version, be free-to-play.

Shuffle has been a big hit on 3DS reaching 4.5m downloads, although it has faced criticism over its implementation of IAPs.

The title can’t really be considered the first of Nintendo’s much-anticipated mobile titles, however. The Pokemon games are made by The Pokemon Company, which is technically different to Nintendo, and the brand already has a decent presence on mobiles with a string of titles already on the market.

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has previously said that its new partnership with DeNA will not simply port games to smartphones – instead it will concentrate on developing brand new titles. It works both ways, too – smartphone titles have made the jump to 3DS, along with Nintendo-specific adaptations.

Nintendo said in may that it expected to release five mobile games in the next two years, the first of which should be out by the end of 2015.