Pokemon Legends: Z-A Leak Reveals Disappointing Switch 2 News

When Pokemon Legends: Z-A was announced last year on Pokemon Day, fans were surprised to see it announced for Nintendo Switch. Many assumed that the next Pokemon game would be coming to Nintendo’s successor to Switch, rather than the current console. Over the last year, fans have held out hope that the game might actually be released on the so-called “Switch 2,” but it seems that won’t be the case. According to Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, everything shown during next month’s Pokemon Presents will be for the current Switch, and will simply be playable on the new system through backwards compatibility.

“I did hear that everything in that Pokemon Direct will be positioned as ‘these games are Switch 1 games.’ And they will work on Switch 2, but there will not be anything that is obviously made for Switch 2. Which is normal for The Pokemon Company,” said Grubb.

While this is disappointing, it’s not terribly surprising. The Pokemon Company (and Game Freak specifically) have a tendency to wait to release games on new Nintendo hardware. The most obvious example happened with the current Switch. During Switch’s first holiday on the market, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released on 3DS. Pokemon fans would have to wait a whole year before Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! were released on the platform, and until 2019 for Pokemon Sword and Shield.

The reason fans were hoping Pokemon Legends: Z-A would be optimized for Switch 2 was a direct result of the performance of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The most recent Pokemon generation sold extremely well for Nintendo, but the games themselves ran very poorly on Switch, with dismal fps. The Pokemon Company and Game Freak are well aware of those criticisms, and seem determined to turn things around for future games. Putting Pokemon Legends: Z-A on Switch 2 could have been a way to make sure the game runs better, but hopefully it won’t need the performance boost to deliver a compelling experience.

At this time, details about Pokemon Legends: Z-A are basically nonexistent. We know the game will arrive this year, and that it will focus on the Kalos region from Pokemon X and Y. Rumors suggest that the game will be set entirely within Lumiose City, one of the key locations from that Pokemon generation. The Pokemon Company has confirmed that the game will see the return of Mega Evolutions, which have been largely missing from the franchise over the last few years. The return of Mega Evolutions will apparently be reflected in the Pokemon TCG, as well.

RELATED: Pokemon Legends: Z-A Has a Chance to End the Nintendo Switch Era on a High Note

With Pokemon Day set to take place on February 27th, we have just over a month remaining until we start to learn more about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and anything else The Pokemon Company is planning. After a year without any additional information on the game, hopefully the Pokemon Presents will give fans plenty to get them excited, regardless of whether it’s optimized for Nintendo Switch 2 or not.

Do you plan on checking out Pokemon Legends: Z-A when it’s released? Were you hoping to see the game optimized for Nintendo Switch 2? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Reddit]