How 2024 should have looked, based on Pocket Tactics’ predictions

Just before the year began, the Pocket Tactics team sat down to come up with our 2024 predictions for the world of mobile and handheld gaming. It was a different time – Zenless Zone Zero was still in beta, Pokémon was still releasing content for Scarlet and Violet, and we knew even less about the Nintendo Switch 2 than we know today.

So, we used our incredible senses of gamer intuition mixed with a lot of wishful thinking to predict what 2024 might have in store for us, and we locked those predictions away for the year. Now, I’m here to see just how right (or more accurately, how very, very wrong) our predictions were, so buckle up for a wild ride.

Unsurprisingly, almost every member of the Pocket Tactics team had something to say about the Nintendo Switch 2, and the majority of us were completely wrong. Ruby, Pocket Tactics Editor, was incredibly optimistic, thinking that we’d get a Switch 2 reveal in the first half of 2024, but instead, just as Staff Writer Holly predicted, we’re no closer to finding out what Nintendo’s next home console will look like.

However, based on Nintendo’s many “please don’t ask us about the Switch’s successor” tweets, we’ve not got long to wait now for some concrete information. Interestingly, ex-Staff Writer James suggested that the Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Cons would be the only major change for the console, and we have seen rumors that the successor is switching to magnetic controllers rather than using the existing Joy-Con rail system. We really hope that our existing controllers will still work though – these things are expensive!

At the end of 2023, if we weren’t speculating about the Nintendo Switch 2, we were thinking about the Zenless Zone Zero release date. With Ruby predicting an October release and James claiming that Hoyoverse would delay the ARPG, we were all pleasantly surprised by the July drop. If you’ve read our Zenless Zone Zero review then you’ll know that we love this urban adventure just as much as Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact, and we’re glad it made its way to our phones in 2024.

Even though we’ve seen the official Genshin Impact Switch trailer, we’re not sure that it’s ever going to happen, so instead, Holly predicted that ZZZ would be the first Hoyo title to make the jump to Nintendo’s console. It hasn’t happened yet, but we’re fairly certain that Zenless Zone Zero’s Switch – or Switch 2 – debut is on the cards thanks to the VHS-themed cartridge cases that Hoyoverse gifted us, and ZZZ producer Zhenyu Li’s statement that the team wants the game on “on all platforms.”

Finally, I made the bold assertion that Netease’s Project Mugen, which is now called Ananta, would outperform Zenless Zone Zero. Of course, this didn’t happen as Ananta is still nowhere to be seen, but we’re predicting a 2025 Ananta release date and are interested to see which of these two urban exploration RPGs comes out on top.

I knew it was a long shot to even suggest a gen 5 Pokémon remake, but someone had to try and manifest it. Pokémon Black and White and their sequels are some of the most expensive DS games out there and I never owned a copy, so I’m desperate for a new way to visit Unova. Sadly, it wasn’t on the cards for 2024, but I’m still holding out hope for some news in the new year.

After all, the most recent Pokémon Go season, Dual Destiny, features tons of Unovan Pokémon and uses black and white in its logo. One Pokémon Go event isn’t enough to go on, but thanks to Pokébeach we now know that the Pokémon TCG is getting two Unova-themed expansions in June called Black Bold and White Flare, for seemingly no reason. Pokémon TCG sets typically follow the videogame’s release schedule, with sets like Astral Radiance and Lost Origin lining up with Legends: Arceus in the past, so I’ve got everything crossed that we’ll return to Unova soon.

The gen five remakes prediction wasn’t our only Pokéfail of the year – Connor, Pocket Tactics Hardware Editor, also suggested a classic Pokémon port collection for Nintendo Switch Online and was sorely disappointed. If Game Freak released a bundle of the older games for the Nintendo Switch, either as its own game or as titles on NSO, it would practically print money. It’s getting harder and harder to access these older titles legitimately, especially thanks to the closure of the Wii U and 3DS virtual console marketplaces, so we’d love to see the first few generations make their way to the Switch, for the sake of videogame preservation.

Our final Pokémon prediction was a half-win. I predicted that in 2024 we’d get Legends: Celebi, another ancient Pokémon adventure set in Johto instead of Sinnoh. While we didn’t get the generation right, we are getting a new spin-off game, and we can’t wait to learn more about the Pokémon Legends: Z-A release date in 2025.

One thing that’s abundantly clear from our many, many incorrect predictions is that we’re desperate for some new Nintendo Switch releases. With the end of the Switch’s life in sight, it makes sense that Nintendo is focusing on remasters and remakes instead of new titles, but we’re starving out here! 2024 left us without a Kingdom Hearts 4 release date, a Witchbrook release date, a new Spyro game, a new God of War game, or a new Digimon game, and frankly we’re a little hurt. Hopefully, with the Switch 2 on the horizon, we’ll get some exciting new console releases in 2025 to keep us going.

Amongst all our shots in the dark, we did actually manage to hit a couple of targets. Our Deputy Editor Kayleigh predicted that we’d get a physical release of Poppy Playtime for the Nintendo Switch, and MOB Entertainment is making it happen. Sure, the three-chapter bundle isn’t actually out until April 2025, but we got the announcement this year so we’re taking it as a win. Our other tenuous success was Ruby’s prediction of a Hoyoverse life sim, which seems to be on the cards thanks to some recent trademarks and social media activity. Whatever it ends up being, we can’t wait until Hoyoverse officially unveils Petit Planet to the world.

So, our 2024 predictions were far from accurate, but they paint a great picture of what the Pocket Tactics team wants from mobile and Switch games. Now that we’ve got a full team again, who knows what we’ll come up with for 2025? While you’re here, make sure to check out Holly’s appeal for more men in gacha games next.