While The Pokémon Company is expected to host its Pokémon Presents event in February, a Pokémon Direct is also expected to take place on the same day, likely unveiling a new game in the franchise. According to Jeff Grubb, the company will be announcing new titles as “Switch 1” games, rather than having been developed for the rumoured Switch 2.
“I did hear that everything in that Pokémon Direct will be positioned as ‘These are Switch 1 games’,” said Grubb. “They will work on Switch 2, but there will not be anything that is obviously made for Switch 2.”
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is expected to be the next major game in the franchise. The title was announced back in February 2024, and with a 2025 release window, it is likely going to be the main title showcased during this year’s Pokémon Presents.
Announced with a trailer, Pokémon Legends: Z-A will feature Lumiose City. The game seems to revolve around building up the city, which according to the trailer was going through redevelopment, and players will be helping in creating the city, where humans and Pokémon will live side-by-side.
Aside from Pokémon Legends: Z-A, there been no new Pokémon game announcements. The most recent mainline titles in the series were Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Despite the game having faced quite a bit of criticisms over its technical issues at launch, the two titles managed to still be incredibly successful, having sold more than 8.3 million copies in Japan alone. This means that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have essentially outsold even the franchise’s debut, Pokémon Red and Green.
As is the case with all big entries in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Legends: Z-A will be coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch. However, thanks to the backwards compatibility on the recently-announced Switch 2, the game will also be playable on new hardware.
