Is the Detective Pikachu Game Finally Getting Released Outside Japan?

A recent rating suggests the long-awaited Detective Pikachu video game will finally come to the [...]

By Christian Hoffer

A recent rating suggests the long-awaited Detective Pikachu video game will finally come to the United States and Europe.

Earlier today, the Pan European Game Info (PEGI) website officially rated the Detective Pikachu game as a game suitable for players 3 and up. PEGI is the group that rates all video games based on their appropriateness of different ages. PEGI quickly pulled down the posting, but not before it was saved via screencap (as seen below):

While PEGI listed Detective Pikachu's release date as "December 31, 2020," this is the biggest hint yet that we'll finally get to see Detective Pikachu outside of Japan.

Released as The Great Detective Pikachu in Japan, the game is a lighthearted mystery solver that pairs a young boy with a coffee-binging and cantankerous Pikachu. In exchange for the ability to talk to its trainer, Detective Pikachu can't actually use any normal Pokemon moves.

The game was well received in Japan when it came out in 2016 and a second chapter to the story was promised. However, news about the game went quiet....until last summer when Legendary Pictures unexpectedly announced that it was making a live action adaptation of the game, with Ryan Reynolds voicing Pikachu and The Get Down star Justice Smith playing his human partner.

Even though the game never got an international release, Detective Pikachu still has a following on the Internet due to Pikachu's hilarious expressions and reactions. Players even petitioned Nintendo to bring on Danny DeVito to voice Pikachu...something that's highly unlikely now that Reynolds is officially voicing the character.

We could get more information next month as Nintendo allegedly has a Nintendo Direct planned.

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