The 20th anniversary of the Pikmin franchise is almost here, and Nintendo might finally unveil the long-awaited next entry in the series. Even if the elusive Pikmin 4 is not announced, there is still a mobile title on the way that is being developed by one of the biggest names in the industry, which could help propel the franchise to new levels of success.
Pikmin is one of the most unusual first-party franchises in existence. The series involves astronauts crash-landing on alien worlds, where they discover a sentient race of vegetable people, called Pikmin. It's the goal of the player to use the Pikmin to defeat enemies and bypass environmental hazards so that they can repair their ship and return to space. There are different types of Pikmin based on color, each of which possesses special qualities. The Pikmin series is oozing with charm, thanks to the Pikmin themselves having a cute and simplistic design. The most recent entry in the series was Pikmin 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch, which is a port of the Wii U original, with improved visuals, new content, and all of the original DLC included.
The Pikmin franchise might not be considered a top-tier Nintendo series, but it has continued to receive new entries over the years, which is more than can be said for the likes of games like F-Zero. The 20th anniversary of the Pikmin franchise will take place on October 26, 2021. The September 2021 Nintendo Direct didn't include any announcements regarding the Pikmin series, but there's at least one upcoming game confirmed for the franchise, and it's being developed by a company that has been important to Nintendo's growth over the past few years.
How Nintendo Could Celebrate The 20th Anniversary Of Pikmin
It was revealed in March that Nintendo is working with Pokémon GO developer Niantic on a Pikmin mobile game. The upcoming Pikmin mobile game will use AR technology to allow players to see Pikmin in the real world. It's unsurprising that there hasn't been much information revealed about the game and its release date, as the pandemic is still ongoing, and the developers will want to wait before launching a game that involves going outside. It's possible that Nintendo and Niantic will release more information on Pikmin's birthday.
There is also the mysterious case of Pikmin 4 to consider. Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the game in 2017, but it has never been formally announced, and no footage has been released. Nintendo released the Pikmin 3 Deluxe announcement on social media, without waiting for a Direct, so it wouldn't be out of character for the company to announce Pikmin 4 in a similar manner. The Pikmin franchise still has plenty of room for more entries, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Pikmin 4 released on the Switch in the future. It remains to be seen whether any new information will be revealed on its 20th anniversary.
The 20th anniversary of Pikmin will take place on October 26, 2021.