Pokémon Pokopia, a spin-off sandbox title released for the franchise's 30th anniversary, is being hailed as one of the best video games of 2026 so far. Its success is notable because recent mainline Pokémon releases have frustrated fans with poor quality and bugs, so a well-received, original entry marks a significant shift for the series and a boost for the Nintendo Switch 2's game library.

Rather than featuring traditional battling and gym badges, Pokopia is a life-simulator and town-building game akin to a blend of Minecraft and Animal Crossing, developed by Koei Tecmo's Omega Force studio. Players control a memory-less Ditto who takes human form to restore a post-apocalyptic Kanto region and make it habitable for Pokémon again, all while investigating the disappearance of humans. The game has already sold more than four million copies within its first five weeks on sale.