Open Ledger, an accounting software firm, has introduced a new product aligned with tax season. The product, named PokéTax, is a game designed to make tax filing more enjoyable. Users navigate the game by encountering Tax Trainers—akin to gym leaders—that represent various sections of a tax form, including income, deductions, and credits. These trainers pose questions to guide players in completing their tax forms.
According to a statement made to TechCrunch by Open Ledger co-founder Pryce Adade-Yebesi, after finishing their PokéTax session, users are directed to the IRS Direct File site to submit their taxes officially. The game is based on an open-source Pokémon game known as Pokémon Showdown, and Adade-Yebesi emphasized that this is not an April Fool’s joke.
Adade-Yebesi stated, “This is real; it works. Tax fraud isn’t funny — and neither is the IRS.” He, along with Ashtyn Bell, founded Open Ledger earlier in the year, securing a $3 million funding round led by Kindred Ventures and Black Ventures. The team initially created this open-source product as a humorous concept, questioning whether they could successfully implement it, to which the answer was affirmative.
The game includes an AI assistant to help organize users’ responses, and players can earn badges—representing new deductions—as they progress through the Tax Trainers. Transforming the process of tax filing into a game is uncommon, given the generally unloved nature of taxes. In 2023, for instance, there was a dating-style game called Tax Heaven 3000, where users interacted with an avatar named Iris to complete their tax forms. However, that game was only applicable for the 2022 tax year.
Adade-Yebesi envisions that by incorporating an element of fun into financial tasks, these processes will become “more engaging and way less soul-sucking.” Tax submissions are due on April 15.
