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Note: Having heard (finally!) about Pikmin 4, we’ve updated and added to this article (first published back in June). Enjoy!
The media cycle that exists around video games these days can be quite punishing. After all, if you announce a game before it’s ready, and then realise that it needs a lot more work, and that release date you just told everyone definitely isn’t going to happen, then what do you do?
Do you make another announcement, and risk making the same mistake with a new release date? Do you vaguely gesture at a release window and hope that people won’t get annoyed? Or do you just stay quiet, and hope that no one notices until you’re ready to share the news?
Plenty of studios take the first and second options, but plenty more take the last one, and stay in video game limbo until they’re 100% ready to tell people when the game is coming out. Those are the games we’re talking about today — from Hollow Knight: Silksong to Outer Wilds, here are all the games we haven’t heard from in some time, and all the information we know about them so far.
Games We Haven’t Heard From In A While…
Metroid Prime 4
What is it?
A sequel in the Metroid Prime series, the beloved action-adventure games starring everyone’s favourite bounty hunter, Samus Aran.
What do we know so far?
Quite a lot, and somehow, nothing at all. We have a logo and a banner, and we know that it has been shuffled around from studio to studio, beginning at Bandai Namco, then being entirely scrapped and given to original Metroid Prime studio, Retro. Aside from that, it’s all just speculation, formed around Retro’s hiring practices, Switch Pro rumours, COVID delays, and blind hope.
Is it coming to Switch?
Well, you’d bloody hope so.
What’s the release date?
We guessed at a 2022/2023 release, but the development has been pretty messy, with all the hiring and pandemic-ing and scrapping the entire project and starting over, so who knows?
Why should we be excited?
Because Metroid Prime is one of the greatest game serieses of all time, and because Metroid Dread was really, really good.
Anything else we should know?
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
Goooooood question. If it’s a 2023 release, it’ll be post-Tears of the Kingdom, and if speculation is to be believed, perhaps that means it could come alongside new Switch hardware. Wouldn’t Metroid Prime 4 look nice on a shiny new screen?
We’d put the likelihood of a Holiday 2023 launch at a 6/10.
Genshin Impact
What is it?
Genshin Impact is a hugely popular open-world action-RPG that was mostly compared to Breath of the Wild when it was first announced, but has made its own mark on games, with over $4 billion in revenue. It has a massive cast of characters, and a huge fan base, and it’s free-to-play, making its money from in-game purchases.
What do we know so far?
Well, it’s been “coming to Switch” since 2020, but it’s been out on mobile, PC, and PS4 since 2020, and PS5 since 2021. The Switch release date is still TBA.
People were really upset about it being a Zelda: BOTW clone when it released, with one guy even smashing his PS4 in rage (weird choice). We weren’t sure ourselves if it counted as inspiration or plagiarism… but does it matter, really? It’s definitely spun off into its own thing by now!
The latest news is that it’s “still coming to Switch,” as of May 2022.
Is it coming to Switch?
Apparently.
What’s the release date?
TBA.
Why should we be excited?
It’s a BOTW-like game with a huge budget. Why wouldn’t you be excited for it on Switch?
Anything else we should know?
- The game has over 60 million monthly players
- There are gacha mechanics, which have been labelled as “predatory” by a few critics
- It’s hugely popular in China
- It’s a party-based game, with four party slots for your choice of characters
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
We really haven’t heard much about the Switch development of Genshin Impact, so your guess is as good as ours. Plus, they’re making enough money off the other versions that they don’t really need to rush it. But we can imagine that a port of such a massive game is going to take a while, and be really tricky.
We’ll put this one at a 5/10.
Pikmin 4
What is it?
A fourth game in the cult-favourite series that’s all about enslaving living onions and trying in vain to stop them being eaten and falling in lava.
What do we know so far?
Shigeru Miyamoto said it was “close to completion” in 2015(!) and again in 2016, he said “we’re working on [Pikmin 4]” but that it kept getting bumped down on Nintendo’s list of priorities. When grilled again in 2017, he simply said “it is progressing”. In 2020, we wrote a bunch of theories on what had happened to it, five years after the announcement.
And then, finally, in September 2022, we got a confirmation from Miyamoto himself that Pikmin 4 is coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2023!
Is it coming to Switch?
It’s probably only coming to Switch.
What’s the release date?
2023! Probably later in the year, since the one teaser trailer didn’t have much to show us.
Why should we be excited?
Do you really need a reason to be excited about Pikmin? They’re tiny, cute, and stupid, and the games have wonderfully evocative music.
Anything else we should know?
You can buy Pikmin 4 merch at the Nintendo NYC Store.
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
We would say 10/10, but… well. Who knows. Something could go wrong! We’ll say 9/10, just in case.
Outer Wilds
What is it?
A fantastically-successful, multi-award-winning game about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. It’s a sort of… narrative Metroidvania? Sort of a timeloop? Sort of science fiction? All you need to know is that it’s brilliant, and any more information might dip into spoiler territory.
What do we know so far?
Not a lot, really. Obviously, the game is out on other platforms, so we know the entire plot, we just don’t know what’s up with its Switch release. The Nintendo eShop page says “TBD” for now, and it hasn’t even been ESRB rated yet. Worrying signs.
The latest news was in July 2022, in which Mobius Digital simply told us:
“You did not collectively hallucinate our announcement of Outer Wilds for the Nintendo Switch. It’s possible that we were a bit over-optimistic on the time frame. At this point, it’s possible that we just fundamentally misunderstand the Gregorian calendar.”
Is it coming to Switch?
Apparently! But it’s already out on everything else, if you don’t want to wait any longer.
What’s the release date?
Your guess is as good as ours. But if they thought it would be ready for Summer 2021, it surely can’t be that far off…? Right????????
Why should we be excited?
Because it’s really, really good. And we want to be able to play it in bed.
Anything else we should know?
There’s also DLC, called Echoes of the Eye, which we haven’t played yet (because we’re waiting for the Switch version, of course). Echoes of the Eye came out in September 2021, so we don’t know if it’ll be included with the Switch version or not.
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
Uhhhhhhh. Well… a year is a long time. But we thought it would definitely be out this year. We can only assume that they’re wrangling with the Switch’s tech… or waiting for an upgrade to the Switch Pro, maybe? Who knows. Let’s say 6/10.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
What is it?
The much-awaited sequel to the beloved Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania-Soulslike with adorable bugs. In Silksong, you’ll play as Hornet, the Princess-Protector of Hallownest.
What do we know so far?
It’s packed with all-new content, of course — new lands, new powers, new bugs, new beasts, new secrets. And new protagonist, of course! We’ve even seen a sneak peek of some of the new characters, got a hint at the new healing mechanics, watched some gameplay, and we know it’s been in the works since at least February 2019, when it was announced.
The latest news is that Team Cherry appear to have promised the big dogs at Xbox that it’ll be out before the middle of 2023, because it was shown off at an Xbox showcase that said that all of the featured games would be out in the next 12 months. Except they promised that in June, so that means it’ll be out within the next seven months. Exciting!
Is it coming to Switch?
Absolutely! It was a console exclusive! Although who knows if that’s true any more!!!
What’s the release date?
That’s the million-Geo question, isn’t it? It seems like it’ll be before July 2023, but that’s not much to go on.
Why should we be excited?
Hollow Knight got a 9/10 from us, and we said that it’s “one of the finest adventures you can have on Nintendo Switch.”
Anything else we should know?
In May 2022, Team Cherry said that “it can’t be too much longer, surely!” We’re trying not to get our hopes up, but it’s definitely looking very polished.
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
Very. Unless it’s released in December 2022, but we think that’s unlikely. Let’s say 9/10, because, well, we’re too scared to get our hopes up again.
Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp
What is it?
A two-in-one remake of the original Game Boy Advance turn-based strategy games, Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2.
What do we know so far?
Is it coming to Switch?
Yep! …Eventually!
What’s the release date?
TBA. Maybe they’re waiting for some kind of resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but that seems short-sighted.
Why should we be excited?
It’s a classic strategy series we’ve been hoping to see return for years.
Anything else we should know?
It will have online support, with up to 4 players supported.
It’s already fully playable — one lucky Switch player got to play the first few campaigns early, when their pre-loaded version of the game turned into the full game upon what was supposed to be the game’s launch in April 2022. Of course, Nintendo shut that down faster than you could say “owned”, and all footage has been taken down.
It’s not the first time that Advance Wars has fallen foul of “world events”, either. The original Advance Wars came out in North America on September 10, 2001 — the day before the 9/11 attacks. It was then delayed in Europe until January, 2022, which is still a much shorter time than this delay.
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
This one’s hard to pin down. If Nintendo is waiting for world events to become less unprecedently awful, then they may be waiting indefinitely.
But the game is finished, and was a month out from release.
We’d put this one at an 8/10.
Grezzo’s Mystery Medieval Game
What is it?
We literally only have the words “medieval” and “stylish” to go on. And maybe “action”.
What do we know so far?
Grezzo is Nintendo’s external Zelda-remake development studio — they were responsible for the Link’s Awakening remake, and both Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask on 3DS. Apparently, now they’re working on their own project. Here’s how they described it on their careers site:
“The approach to the game’s design will be “medieval” and “stylish.” It won’t be photorealistic, but takes elements from reality and puts a design twist on them. The UI designer will be for HUD, menus, and such.”
In the job description for a “Battle Planner”, they go into more detail, stating that they want someone with “experience in creating action games” and “creating battles with enemies and bosses”, which sounds like perhaps an action-RPG.
Is it coming to Switch?
No idea. It’s relatively likely, though, given their close relationship with Nintendo.
What’s the release date?
We don’t even know the title, so… who knows!
Why should we be excited?
Grezzo has an excellent track record, even if most of their games are Nintendo remakes and ports. Their own creations include Ever Oasis and StreetPass Garden.
Anything else we should know?
Grezzo’s last project was helping out with the planning and development for the Miitopia remake in 2021, and the studio itself is run by Mana series creator Koichi Ishii as the CEO. Their last full release was the Link’s Awakening remake on Switch in 2019.
How likely is it to be released in 2023?
We’d say zero chance of that, given that we don’t have a title. We might get an announcement in 2023, though!
Give us your theories, your rumours, your pessimistic and optimistic thoughts in the comments below!
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