Job Listing Spurs Speculation That Pokemon Switch Games Will Have DLC

A new job posting has fans thinking that some big changes are on the way for the next Pokemon game.

Over the weekend, the Pokemon Company posted a "localization associate" opening on their tech team, who will be responsible for supporting future products and marketing efforts. The new hire will work on asset management, digital production, knowledge base creation, and project coordination support for an unknown upcoming video game.

But what really got fans talking was a note in the job posting that noted that the localization associate will also prepare and test downloadable content.

While many game franchises have turned to DLC as a way to better monetize their games while giving fans more to explore within the game, the Pokemon Company has largely stayed away from any sort of DLC. Outside of Pokken Tournament DX, no Pokemon game has ever had any sort of DLC that players have had to pay for to unlock. While the Pokemon Company has had numerous giveaways for different kinds of exclusive Pokemon, these are all free and usually easy to unlock.

This new job posting follows several other job postings by the Pokemon Company looking for short-term help for a translation project. Many fans have assumed that all this localization is for the upcoming Pokemon Switch game, which Nintendo projects will come out in "2018 or later."

However, we should note that the Pokemon Company does have other video game projects besides the Pokemon Switch titles. Not only is a Detective Pikachu video game coming out later this year, there's also a mobile game called PokeLand that has been in beta testing for several months, along with a planned mobile game based on the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

In fact, there are several other job listings on the Pokemon Company's job page that specifically mobile gaming and the Pokemon Trading Card Game, including one listed for a short-term contract similar to the ones that has fans in an uproar. These job postings could be for the Pokemon Switch games, or they could be for something entirely else that doesn't necessarily live up to the insane amount of hype Pokemon fans already have for the new game.

Of course, DLC for the next bunch of Pokemon games would be huge. Not only could it mean more post-game options for players to explore, it could mean the return of old regions not seen in many years. DLC might be a way to bridge the gap between players who want to explore new parts of the Pokemon world with those constantly clamoring for remakes of older games.

We'll have to see what surprises the Pokemon Company has in store for us later this year. One thing's certain: we should have some new Pokemon content of some kind later this year!