The Pokémon franchise has been experiencing some massive success as of late. Last November's Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were massive financial successes for The Pokémon Company, and January's release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus brought some much-needed innovation to the franchise. Pokémon fans will also get the chance to experience another mainline entry with the new open-world titles Pokémon Scarlet and Violet later this year.
With all of this excitement, gamers would be forgiven for forgetting about a major title that wasn't included in the recent Pokémon Presents events: Detective Pikachu for Nintendo Switch. Announced back in 2019 at the Pokémon Business Strategy event, neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company has spoken about the game since, and Nintendo has not listed the game in recent financial supports -- so what happened to this game?
What Is Detective Pikachu?
Before it was a movie starring Ryan Reynolds as the iconic electric mouse, Detective Pikachu was an adventure game spinoff released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in 2016. The game centers around a young man named Tim Goodman and his talking companion Pikachu solving mysteries together. This spinoff focused more on narrative storytelling, with presentation elements comparable to that of the Pokémon anime.
In 2018, two years after Japan-only release of Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo, an expanded version of the game was released worldwide with a physical edition and oversized amiibo. The release tied in nicely with the release of the film the following year. The game sold admirably for a title released late in the Nintendo 3DS' lifespan, and the film made $433.9 million in the worldwide box office, making it the second-highest-grossing film based on a video game at the time behind only 2016's Warcraft.
What We Know About Detective Pikachu on Nintendo Switch
Weeks after the release of the film, The Pokémon Company announced a follow-up to 2018's Detective Pikachu game at the Pokémon Business Strategy event to be released on Nintendo Switch. The game is said to be the "conclusion to the story" of the original, resolving its cliffhanger ending in a way that differs from what happened in the movie.
Very little has been revealed about the gameplay itself. It's likely the game will play similarly to what was offered in its 3DS predecessor, but it's unclear if the Nintendo Switch version would offer additional benefits or take advantage of the hardware outside of its improved graphics. Furthermore, it's not even clear if this game is a full sequel or simply an expanded port.
Is Detective Pikachu Coming to Nintendo Switch Anytime Soon?
Since its announcement, there has not been another word about the new Detective Pikachu, and numerous Pokémon Presents events have passed with no further news. Much like how the status of the film's announced sequel is unclear, the upcoming game has hardly received even a passing mention from the companies involved. Furthermore, with the Switch being in the middle of its life cycle, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the game ends up coming to Nintendo's next system.
The closest thing fans have gotten to an announcement comes from a recruitment site for Creatures Inc., the developer of the first game. On the site, a programmer named KT noted that he was in charge of programming the sequel to Detective Pikachu, confirming its ongoing development. The lack of a reveal at the February Pokémon Presents, however, seems to indicate that the game is not that far in development, making it unlikely that it will release until at least next year.