Pokemon Games in 2026 Are on a Generational Run, and 2027 Could Be More of the Same

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Although there won’t be a brand-new main series Pokémon game released this year to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary, Pokémon is still having a busy year. While fans are waiting for Pokémon Winds and Waves in 2027, Pokémon has already made a strong start to 2026. The Pokémon Company has re-released Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen – the first mainline games to be re-released since 2017 – and brought the beloved classic Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness to Nintendo Switch Online (despite some problems with that version). They also saw their best-ever release with Pokémon Pokopia, and the long-awaited official battle simulator, Pokémon Champions, is launching on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices on April 8th. In addition to video games, Pokémon opened a new theme park in Japan, PokePark Kanto, on February 5th.

With no new main-series Pokémon game planned for this year, the creators are finding other ways to celebrate the franchise, like the events mentioned earlier. These could be just the beginning, as we don’t yet know what’s next after Champions, but there’s a lot of opportunity for releases that appeal to longtime fans. If they follow through on that potential, 2026 and 2027 could be fantastic years for Pokémon fans.

Pokemon’s Potential Retro Plans

With Pokémon celebrating its 30th anniversary, fans are wondering what else The Pokémon Company has planned beyond this spring’s releases. It seems unlikely they’d limit celebrations for such a major milestone to just a few games. While mobile titles like Pokémon GO and Pokémon Masters EX will likely receive ongoing updates, many are hoping for more classic Pokémon games to be re-released, similar to FireRed and LeafGreen, especially since no new main series games are currently scheduled.

While a release date hasn’t been announced, Pokémon Colosseum, the game before XD, is confirmed to be available on the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube library. Fans are hoping for other classic Pokémon games that haven’t been remade for Switch to be added, but there’s currently no indication that will happen.

It’s understandable why they’d begin with FireRed and LeafGreen if remakes were planned – releasing updated versions of the very first Pokémon games during the anniversary year makes perfect sense. Hopefully, if these sell well, we might finally see Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver remade without having to pay a fortune. Still, it feels like Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are only just beginning to explore the possibilities for celebrating the anniversary with new content.

While We Wait for Winds and Waves, Pokemon Champions Will Serve as This Year’s “Big Title”

For 2026 and 2027, The Pokémon Company will likely focus heavily on supporting Pokémon Champions. They’ve announced that official tournaments will now use Champions instead of the latest main series game, giving the competitive Pokémon community a dedicated game designed for optimized gameplay.

Although a brand new Pokemon game isn’t coming out this year, Pokemon Champions is a significant release for both competitive and casual players interested in the competitive scene – it’s almost as impactful as a full main series game. Previously, getting into competitive Pokemon was difficult due to complex training methods like EV training and breeding for optimal stats. Pokemon Champions will allow players to customize these stats, ensuring the game remains engaging for a long time.

Spinning Off Into This Year and the Next

While Champions is expected to be the major Pokémon release in 2026, the excellent quality of Pokémon Pokopia is encouraging fans that we might see more large-scale console Pokémon spin-off games in the future. Currently, there are only five Pokémon spin-off games for the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming Switch 2 that aren’t simply mobile ports. That number drops to four if you don’t count Pokken Tournament DX – which had multiple previous versions – and to just three if you exclude Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, a remake of older Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games.

It would be fantastic to see downloadable content for Pokopia, but it’s been a long time – over ten years – since a new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game came out. Pokemon Ranger hasn’t been updated since 2010, and its gameplay would actually be a great fit for the Switch 2’s Joy-Con controls. Even just hearing an announcement about new games in these older spin-off series would be really exciting, even if they aren’t released this year.

This Time, Pokemon’s Nostalgia Bait is Welcome

It’s understandable that some people feel Pokemon relies too heavily on familiar elements. However, as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary, embracing that nostalgia isn’t a bad thing. Reviving older, fan-favorite games – both the core Pokemon titles and spin-offs – would likely be more exciting than simply announcing the next expected installment.

Even though I’m a bit tired of relying on nostalgia, I’d be happy to see it this year or in 2027 if The Pokémon Company really makes the most of it. Fans aren’t just longing for the original Kanto region – we also miss Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and all the other older areas, including spin-off regions like Ransei and Almia. Tapping into all that affection would make Pokémon’s 30th anniversary truly special, and I’m hoping that’s what they’ll do.

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2026-03-28 23:08