Pokémon Go has dropped a gigantic hint it will add Gen 8’s game-changing Dynamax mechanic in the not-too-distant future.
The tease, which takes centre stage in the game’s new 8th Anniversary artwork, shows a Dynamaxed Wartortle alongside the eight generation’s trio of Starter Pokémon: Grooky, Scorbunny and Sobble.
Last month, Pokémon Go director Michael Steranka suggested to Eurogamer that a long-awaited release of the franchise’s eighth generation would come with a focus on “what makes those Pokémon special”.
Pokémon Go has so far largely skipped over the launch of Gen 8 species to focus more on Gen 9 critters from the more recent Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Now, fans are clamouring for the game to get back to filling out its Gen 8 Pokédex – and this year’s anniversary artwork appears to suggest it will do just this.
“We’ve definitely been thinking a lot about Gen 8 for a while in Pokémon Go,” Steranka told me last month. “Nothing to share right now in terms of the timing or launch strategy there, but something we’re always trying to do is play homage to the source material and do right by that source material.