Detective Pikachu 2 Is Finally On The Way
The electric mouse is in the house, as it sounds like Nintendo is finally working on Detective Pikachu 2. Sadly, we don't mean the live-action movie starring Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds, nope, it's the long-awaited sequel to the Pokemon spin-off.
Detective Pikachu's release is something of an unusual one, with Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo releasing on the Japanese eStore in 2016. In 2018, it was removed and replaced with an expanded version that was simply called Detective Pikachu. Shortly after the release of the Detective Pikachu movie in 2018, The Pokemon Company confirmed a game sequel was on the way.
What’s Going On With Detective Pikachu 2?
The website for Creatures Inc. includes a profile with a programmer called KT. During his day-to-day, KT mentions how he is "in charge of programming around drawing in the project related to the sequel to 'Detective Pikachu'." With updates on the much-hyped sequel being thin on the ground, at least this snippet assures fans that Detective Pikachu 2 is on the way.
When Detective Pikachu 2 was first announced, we were told it will continue the story of the first game but were warned it will feature a completely different ending to what happened in Tim and the crime-solving 'mon's big-screen adventure. However, that might not be the only change we can expect.
Later on in KT's interview, he mentions how he believes ray tracing will become indispensable. The OG Detective Pikachu was a sometimes crude outing on the Nintendo 3DS, but when it comes to the future, KT concludes: "I am also paying attention to technologies introduced in the latest game engines such as Unreal Engine 5." That doesn’t mean we’ll get an Unreal Engine 5 Detective Pikachu 2, but you never know.
When Will We See Detective Pikachu 2?
Unfortunately, that's about it when it comes to updates on Detective Pikachu 2. The reason for this relative radio silence is likely to do with the pandemic throwing a spanner in the works across the industry. Also, Nintendo has been pretty busy with a little Pokemon game you might've heard of called Arceus.
Sadly, you might have to get your Detective Pikachu fix from games alone. Smith has previously said a movie sequel looks increasingly unlikely, and although we pitched our own idea for the IP to live on in the form of a series, Netflix's upcoming Pokemon show is tipped to break new ground. Oh well, at least Detective Pikachu and his deerstalker hat will continue at Nintendo.
