It has been almost two years since Detective Pikachu for Nintendo Switch and the Pokémon Sleep mobile app were announced, and there have been no updates since. The Pokémon Company has made plenty of announcements about new Pokémon games since 2019, but fans still don't know the Pokémon Sleep or new Detective Pikachu games' release dates.
In May 2019, The Pokémon Company announced several projects at a Pokémon Business Strategy Announcement event. These included announcements for Pokémon Home and Pokémon Masters for mobile phones, both of which have been available for some time now. One of the biggest announcements made during the event was for a sequel to the Detective Pikachu video game for Nintendo Switch. The original Detective Pikachu was a 3DS game that was loosely adapted into the movie of the same name. The 3DS Detective Pikachu ended on a cliffhanger, and developers promised the sequel would have a different ending from the film.
A more curious announcement made during the event was for a mobile game called Pokémon Sleep, which tracks how the player sleeps. The game would do this with the aid of the Pokémon Go Plus+ device, which has the ability to monitor information about the player as they sleep. There was very little information about Pokémon Sleep given at the event, but many Pokémon fans assumed they wouldn't have to wait long to find out more.
Detective Pikachu & Pokémon Sleep: Almost Two Years Of Silence
Since their initial announcements, The Pokémon Company hasn't revealed any more details about Detective Pikachu or Pokémon Sleep. New Pokémon Snap has been revealed and will likely be released before fans learn anything else about either game. It's odd for The Pokémon Company to announce new games so far in advance of an actual launch, which has led to speculation the games may have been canceled, especially Pokémon Sleep, as so little information was revealed about it in the first place.
The Pokémon Company has even celebrated two Pokémon Day events full of announcements since the reveals for Detective Pikachu and Pokémon Sleep, yet they weren't mentioned at either. It's possible Detective Pikachu is being held off until a sequel to the Detective Pikachu movie gets off the ground. Pokémon Sleep is another story, as the need to purchase an expensive peripheral might be seen as a detriment to the game's chances of success, especially as mobile games that require cash investments upfront tend not to do well. It's also possible the pandemic delayed the development of both games. All fans can do is wait and see if these games ever launch as promised.