Game Freak has been steadily releasing its own games in recent years, with the PS4 and Xbox One featuring the likes of Giga Wrecker Alt, Tembo the Badass Elephant and Little Town Hero.
The list has been growing and there have been hopes that Game Freak’s next title will be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Pokemon Sword and Shield still has more content in the works, but Game Freak has ways to explore other avenues.
This includes the Gear Project Initiative, a way for Game Freak to get ideas for original games. An interview conducted with a member of the Game Freak team back in 2019 with VGC explains:
“There are two different production teams here, simply named Production Team 1 and Production Team 2. Team 1 is fully dedicated to Gear Project, while Team 2 is for the Pokémon operation.
“What that means is that Game Freak is a company is prioritising Gear Project, which is production team number one, more than Pokémon in general.
“We are always trying to create something that is equally exciting, or more exciting than Pokémon.”
But recent reports suggest that Little Town Hero, the most recent Game Freak launch, is likely to remain the most notable one available to play on next-gen consoles.
The latest news out this week suggests that the developer could be working on a new Pokemon game that will be launching on Nintendo Switch.
New job listings have popped up, via Dexerto, that have fans chatting that something big could be in the works for 2021.
The 25th anniversary of the first game is set for this year, making for the perfect time to release a new game in the franchise.
This is all pretty thin on the ground, but the jobs being noticed are for positions translating from Japanese to English.
These positions have sprung up in the past during the end stages of development and could point to something bigger on the horizon.
There have already been several rumours of new Pokemon games popping up in the coming months.
Last month, Express.co.uk reported that reliable Nintendo insider KeliosFR said the Pokemon remakes that fans had been clamouring for were arriving in November 2021.
The leaker didn’t mention Pokemon Diamond and Pearl by name, but these Nintendo DS classics seem the most likely candidates.
KeliosFR also claimed a Detective Pikachu sequel is in the works, which could also be arriving on the Switch next year.
It remains to be seen whether the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes do indeed get announced this week, or if this in-demand announcement could be being saved up for the Pokemon 25th anniversary celebrations taking place in 2021.
The Pokemon Company has already said they have some “very special” plans in store to mark the landmark occasion.
The Pokemon makers previously said: “The Pokemon Company International invites fans around the world to stay tuned for more information about the very special upcoming celebration of Pokemon’s 25th anniversary in 2021.”
When it comes to new Game Freak games being released on other platforms, there has been no word on what might be coming next.
But when it does arrive, it would make sense for it to be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as last-gen consoles.
