One of the most surprising reveals during today’s Nintendo Direct is that Pokemon has a new game, Pokemon Pokopia, coming next year, and it’s a big departure for the franchise. From the reveal trailer, Pokopia looks like a cross between Minecraft, Animal Crossing, and Dragon Quest Builders set in the Pokemon universe.
There are no battles to fight in this cozy game, so this might be a utopia for any battle-weary Pokemon. Players assume control of a Ditto–a Pokemon that can mimic other creatures–who has taken on the form of a human. The Ditto can craft materials and buildings in addition to borrowing powers from various Pokemon to grow crops and take care of the creatures under their care.
Pokemon Pokopia will be released on Switch 2 in 2026, but it doesn’t have an exact release date yet.
Following the reveal of Pokemon Pokopia, Nintendo announced that the next game in the franchise, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, will be getting a paid DLC expansion and two new Mega evolutions. A recent video from Pokemon Legends: Z-A also introduced Malamar as an influencer in the world of the game.
Earlier this week, Nintendo secured a patent that may reshape the future of Pokemon-inspired games like Palworld. The patent covers “the fundamental gameplay mechanic of summoning a character and letting it fight another” within a video game.
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