Developer accidentally reveals Detective Pikachu 2 is ‘nearing release’

Philip Trahan
pokemon detective pikachu shocked header

A developer working on Detective Pikachu 2 accidentally revealed that the game was ‘nearing release’ through an update on LinkedIn.

Though many of Pokemon’s spin-off titles rarely ever surpass the popularity of the mainline series, they certainly have plenty of fans.

Pokemon’s most bizarre spin-off title, Detective Pikachu, is also among that camp, even spawning a successful live-action film.

Now, it seems the sequel to 2018’s Detective Pikachu on Nintendo 3DS is closer than expected, thanks to an updated from one of the developer’s LinkedIn profiles.

Detective Pikachu 2 nearing release

Senior Game Programmer at Creatures Inc., Jonathon Murphy, updated his current job description on LinkedIn to include the following: “…worked on an unannounced project and one nearing release, Detective Pikachu 2.”

However, hours later, Murphy updated the description to read, “…one in development, Detective Pikachu 2,” instead of “nearing release.”

The exact reason behind the change remains unknown, but fans have known this sequel has been in development for the Nintendo Switch some time now.

Unfortunately, that’s all the new information surrounding Detective Pikachu 2 that we know.

Detective Pikachu promotional image screenshot.
The popular spin-off game

Considering the game was absent from the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, it could certainly be a bit longer until release.

Although, Pokemon usually saves its game announcements for dedicated Pokemon Directs, or random trailer announcements on Twitter, as The Pokemon Company has been keen to do lately.

With Pokemon Scarlet & Violet set to release on November 18, 2022, it seems rather unlikely Detective Pikachu 2 would release anywhere around Fall or Winter 2022, so as not to crowd the next mainline game’s release.

While a 2022 release still seems unlikely, this Detective Pikachu sequel could very well release sometime in Q1 of 2023 if it is nearing release as Murphy claimed. For now, Pokemon fans will just have to wait for The Pokemon Company to officially reveal this spin-off sequel.

About The Author

Philip is a Staff Writer at Dexerto based in Louisiana, with expertise in Pokemon, Apex Legends, and general gaming industry news. His first job in the games industry was as a reviewer with NintendoEverything.com while attending college. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication focusing on Multimedia Journalism, he worked with GameRant.com for nearly two years before joining Dexerto. When he's not writing he's usually tearing through some 80+ hour JRPG. You can contact him at philip.trahan@dexerto.com.