During the 2026 Super Bowl, Pokémon made an announcement regarding their next projects for the iconic series. However, unlike some fan expectations, this was not news regarding the next Generation of games featuring new pocket monsters within a fresh region. Instead, there was a focus on events outside of gaming for the franchise’s 30th anniversary, but this shouldn’t be shocking to fans who’ve followed Pokémon‘s direction over the last few years.
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One fan expectation was that Pokémon‘s Gen 10 games would be revealed either during the Super Bowl ads, or at some point during an event related to the series’ 30th anniversary. While that could still happen at some point in 2026, most of the marketing for Pokémon has been related to Pokémon: Legends Z-A and its DLC. The release of the Mega Dimensions expansion for the spin-off game was the last big “gaming” news for the series, leaving many fans wondering what the next steps for Pokémon might be.
Pokémon Announced Day Out & Night Out Events To Take Place Throughout 2026
Through a commercial showing off many celebrity’s favorite Pokémon, Pokémon announced Pokémon Day Out and Pokémon Night Out, two sequences of live “experiences” designed to celebrate the series history with fans. As of this time of writing, it is unclear what these experiences will look like, but many theories point toward live events, special collaborations, and other promotions throughout 2026. This could be as simple as the sale of specific merchandise, or larger events designed to draw people to them, similar to how Pokémon GO attracted large audiences outside of online spaces.
According to official sources, Pokémon Day Out features events designed to be family-friendly, with activities and programming meant to share a broader appeal. Designed for “fans of all ages” according to the official Pokémon website, Pokémon Day Out and Night Out are meant to connect fellow Trainers together in “interactive” and “immersive” ways. To contrast Day Out, Night Out events have fun surprises for veteran fans who grew up on Pokémon, rather than experiences meant to attract new players to the series.
Not much else was mentioned regarding either series of events, other than that they will be taking placing during the new year at various points. More news is likely to come out soon, but it’s safe to assume that the division between Day Out and Night Out events could come from what audiences they revolve their content around. For example, a new Pokémon movie could be announced during Day Out activities, while Night Out could see something like the remakes for Gen 5 revealed for older fans who grew up playing that era of games.
Super Bowl Ad For New Pokemon Live Experiences Cost More Than Their Most Recent Game
Despite some fans being understandably excited for any Pokémon news regarding Day Out or Night Out, it’s interesting to think about how these live events were announced. The Super Bowl is notorious for having expensive commercials, with a multitude of companies desiring ad space on one of the most watched events in the world. For 2026, the cost of having 30 seconds of advertising space during the Super Bowl was between $8-10 million, with Pokémon having a roughly one minute ad costing $16-20 million as a result.
By comparison, recent leaks surrounding Nintendo’s internal revenue have shown that Pokémon: Legends Z-A cost around $13 million to make in total. This specific amount comes from a number of various reports, which also highlighted the 12.3 million copies of the game roughly sold since its launch. While fans don’t typically get to know how many resources go directly into a Pokémon game, this information surrounding the latest game made in the series is surprising, considering approximations point to a $21.8 million budget for Gen 9’s Pokémon Scarlet & Violet games earlier.
Funds Being Spent On Events Rather Than Game Development Has Shown Through Game Quality
Even the Scarlet and Violet budgets are considered low for AAA games, but the idea of the one minute Super Bowl commercial having a bigger investment than the entirety of the Legends: Z-A spin-off is enough to frustrate some fans. For some time now, fans have long criticized Nintendo for being “lazy” with Pokémon games, due to some of them lacking in innovations or content upon release. However, it’s easy to see how low budgets have also led to a decline in quality of Pokémon games, with Legends: Z-A being a clear recent example in some regards.
One of the series biggest problems right now is how much marketing and funding go toward live events, big commercials, or other live service actions. This choice from The Pokémon Company has made their development costs minimal, with most fans agreeing that many will buy a Pokémon game regardless of whether it is good or not. This gives Nintendo less incentive to invest in a fully budgeted and developed Pokémon game with fresh concepts, minimizing risks in favor of the same thing over and over.
The constant critiques of mainline Pokémon game quality likely come from the lack of resources developers have to create a unique experience from past entries. With the series entering their 30th anniversary and 10th Generation, the diverted resources into a Super Bowl ad and the Day Out and Night Out events feel like more of the same, with Nintendo continuing to pour money into anything other than its game development.
This represents the double-edged sword of Pokémon GO‘s success in some ways, where live service endeavors tend to be favored more than keeping the series fresh. While the Night Out and Day Out events could be positive ideas for Pokémon, the preference Nintendo has for marketing the series rather than making it is a consistent problem that could keep the franchise on a rapid decline despite its victories.
Do you think Pokémon should put more of its budget into its Gen 10 games? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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