At the June 21, 2023 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo shared the reveal trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns, the long-awaited Detective Pikachu 2, and it has a release date of October 6, 2023 on Nintendo Switch. In the game, you’ll work together with Pokémon to solve the city’s mysteries. Tim Goodman is back, wearing his “iconic red hoodie” (okay), along with Pikachu, the “great detective known for his bolts of brilliance.”
Nintendo has offered a bit more about the game: “Discover the origin of the great detective Pikachu! Partner with the tough-talking, coffee-loving Pikachu, who calls himself a great detective, to unravel multiple mysteries across Ryme City.” That, uh, kind of repeats what we already knew. But it emphasizes that there is zero ambiguity about what this cinematic adventure is.
Here is the Detective Pikachu Returns reveal trailer.
The original Detective Pikachu launched worldwide for Nintendo 3DS in March 2018, where it garnered a good, not great critical reception. However, like all Pokémon games, it developed its own hardcore fans. A Detective Pikachu 2 was announced in 2019, but today is the first time we’re actually genuinely seeing it running.
All of this is not to be confused with the Detective Pikachu movie starring Ryan Reynolds, which is also apparently still getting a sequel… somehow.