Due to Game Freak prioritizing DLC for last year’s Pokémon Sword and Shield, 2020 marks the first time in recent memory that 12 months will pass without a single new franchise installment. Whether this new development cycle is one that the studio will decide to adopt in the future will likely hinge on whether expansions to the Galar region, Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra, prove to be best-selling content, and we’ll just have to wait and see on that front.
It goes without saying, however, that regardless of that outcome, new Pokémon games will continue to release in the future and it’s looking increasingly likely that 2021 is when fans can expect the next series’ entries to arrive. If we’re to assume Game Freak is sticking rigidly to its three-year gap between introducing all-new generations, then next year is almost certainly going to involve either another pair of remakes or remasters of some kind.
If one is to consider 2018’s Let’s Go spinoffs as an entirely standalone experience separate to the mainline games, then that means 2014’s Alpha Sapphire & Omega Ruby remain the most recent remakes of their kind to date. Pokéfans have been waiting ever since for Gen IV’s Sinnoh region to get the same treatment, of course, though judging by recent comments provided by reputable insider Nintend’Alerts, it would appear as if whatever it is that’s in the works, it’s liable to be somewhat unpopular.
In response to one Twitter user’s complaints about the frequency of remakes and/or remasters coming out of Nintendo HQ, Nintend’Arts (translated by Centro Pokémon) said: “And to think that people complain about the [Mario] remasters, when they see the Pokémon thing that’s coming, they’re going to complain [even more].”
If Diamond & Pearl remakes are wanted by the majority, it would make little sense for the whistleblower to assume fans would respond with complaints, leading us to believe that 2021 could mark the release of new Pokémon Let’s Go games, specifically those based on the original Gold & Silver.
What do you think, though? As always, let us know in the comments down below!
