I'm going to waste hours, if not days, playing Pokopia – and that's fine with me

I'm a pretty chilled gamer, and my absolute favourite Nintendo Switch games are of the cosier genre. Titles like Animal Crossing, Toem, and Disney Dreamlight Valley are my true happy places, and it looks like Pokémon has created my dream game with the announcement of Pokopia coming in 2026.

From the looks of the trailer, this game will have you playing as a Ditto disgusing as a human avatar, and interacting with other Pokémon to transform your land into something special. It seems to have a lot of Gen 1 favourites to keep fans happy, including the 3 Kanto starters, and I spotted some newer Pokémon in the trailer too such as Pawmo and Timburr.

All we know for now is that the game will be launching on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026, and there's no official release date for Pokémon Pokopia as of yet. I already know that I'm going to waste hours if not DAYS playing this, and I think I'm okay with it. If you haven't already, check out my guide to the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories and make sure you're prepared with everything you need for launch day.

Pokémon Pokopia – Nintendo Direct 9.12.2025 - YouTube

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This is the first-ever cosy Pokémon game for the Switch console, unless you count Pokémon Dungeons (which I never really liked) or Detective Pikachu (which I quickly got bored with), and I think it will be a huge hit with older Pokémon fans who don't necessarily want to battle hard or catch em all, but create a beautiful Utopia instead.

While I seriously can't wait for Pokopia to release, it does seem a teeny bit hypocritical of Nintendo to be game-mixing like this, given the ongoing lawsuit between The Pokémon Company and Palworld over character likeness and gameplay style.

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I get that this game will be a spin on Nintendo's own Miitopia franchise and Animal Crossing's cosy style, but it's also hard to ignore the Minecraft-esque landscapes we can see so far. And the company's controversial new patents aren't looking great for inclusivity either, and could spell disaster for game design.

Does Nintendo not know how to share? In any case, If you're as excited for this game as I am, let me know in the comments below.