admin Another year has passed, and before we look forward to all the exciting possibilities that await the gaming industry in 2026, it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on the year we’ve just had. Every year, each Pocket Tactics member makes about ten predictions for the coming year, and now it’s time to see how right (or wrong) we were.
Understandably, in early 2025, the biggest topic on all of our minds was the unannounced Nintendo Switch successor. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for news, as Nintendo announced the new hybrid console on January 16, 2025. Pocket Tactics editor Ruby correctly guessed that it would be called the Nintendo Switch 2, but her pre-reveal estimate was off by a few weeks.
We later found out that there were a lot of games coming to the portable console, many of which the team had correctly predicted. I thought these choices were crazy at the time, but Deputy Editor Kayleigh was right when he said that both Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 would be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, with both games adding features exclusive to the console. We’re still waiting for the Tarnished Edition’s release date, but CD Projekt Red’s RPG came out swinging, with Kayleigh giving it a 9/10 in her Cyberpunk 2077 Switch 2 review.
After several recent remakes and remasters, Hardware Editor Connor was right when he predicted a great new 3D Donkey Kong game for the Switch 2, and lo and behold, Donkey Kong Bananza has blown us all away. Not only did it win the Best Family Game award and a GOTY nomination at The Game Awards 2025, but it’s also Connor’s Switch GOTY, which isn’t surprising considering its 10/10 Donkey Kong Bananza review.
We also fixed a few other things about the Switch 2. Staff writer Sam correctly predicted that the console’s launch price would be cheaper than an Xbox Series If you’re thinking, “Wait, what new Zelda port?” She got it right on the technical front, as we got Switch 2 editions of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Sorry it’s raining on your parade, Holly.
So we’re obviously pretty aware of Nintendo’s plans, but there are still plenty of games we were hoping would come to the Switch 2 that haven’t made the jump yet. I’m talking Monster Hunter Wilds, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Marvel Rivals and Call of Duty. Luckily, most of these are great Steam Deck games, so you can still play them on the go, but we’re still hoping they come to the Nintendo system soon.
Following are the Pokémon predictions. As a PT Poké person, I’ve taken some pretty big swings with my guesses, and unfortunately, none have hit the mark. I was sure we would get a Black and White remake this year, especially after the Black Bolt and White Flare TCG set, but no. There’s still no official news on the tenth generation of games, although a lot of information is available via the massive Game Freak leak. We haven’t seen a third Charizard Mega Evolution (yet), and my beloved Project Voltage hasn’t appeared in any mobile games. However, Hatsune Miku has shared the stage with Pikachu and Eevee in a series of concerts in Japan. God, I wish I was there.
Connor was much more on point with his predictions this year, correctly guessing that Pokémon TCG Pocket would not add any new battle mechanics and that his favorite dragon Pokémon, Dragonite, would get a new Mega Evolution in Legends: ZA. Several PT favorites even received upgrades, as Raichu received not one, but two new Megas in the DLC. Ruby’s hopes for an open-world Pokémon game didn’t come to fruition, but we did get the surprise announcement of Pokémon Pokopia, a farming and life simulation inspired by games like Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and Dragon Quest Builders.
2025 was a big year for gacha games, and if you don’t believe me, you clearly haven’t heard that Wuthering Waves won Player’s Voice at The Game Awards, and Umamusume: Pretty Derby won Mobile Game of the Year. We visited Nod Krai in Genshin Impact, something guides editor Tilly more or less predicted when she said we’d get more Khaenri’ah lore before heading straight to Snezhnaya. I was wrong about Zenless Zone Zero coming to Switch 2, and Ruby missed with her Ananta mobile GOTY prediction because the game still isn’t out. Will it ever see the light of day?
Hoyoverse specifically had a big year, spilling the beans on two big new mobile games: Petit Planet and Honkai: Nexus Anima. Tilly thought Petit Planet might go back to its previous name Astaweave Haven, but it looks like the PP is here to stay. Don’t get it confused with Poppy Playtime! Very different vibrations. However, she was right about Hoyoverse using Genshin events to test out possible mechanics, and about a closed beta. You can read our Petit Planet preview for a deeper dive into this interstellar, cozy game.
In addition to all this excitement, Ruby finally predicted a new Digimon game correctly, and she loved it, as you can see in her 9/10 Digimon Story: Time Stranger review. Tilly was unfortunately right that Square Enix would end another mobile game in 2025, with Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link canceled before a full launch, and War of the Visions: FFBE falling victim to the Persona 5 curse. While she’s still waiting for news from the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot series, Kayleigh was right about a new Tomb Raider game, and unfortunately, she was also right about GTA 6 being delayed again.
We’re still hoping for tons of big titles like Kingdom Hearts 4, Persona 6, Final Fantasy 7 Remake part 3 and Witchbrook, but there’s very little news. Hopefully it won’t be long before we can add them to our list of new Switch games. In the meantime, fill your gaming backlog with picks from our Switch GOTY 2025, Mobile GOTY 2025, and Steam Deck GOTY 2025 lists, and we’ll see you in 2026!
