Pikmin 3 Deluxe has been rated for Switch 2, suggesting an update is on the way for the 12-year-old Wii U game before Pikmin 4 gets one

In what would be a bizarre move from Nintendo, Pikmin 3 Deluxe has received a Switch 2 rating from PEGI.

If you ask me, from the currently announced lineup of Switch 2-enhanced Nintendo Switch games, the biggest omission is Pikmin 4. Last month, the now-two-year-old game received a brand new update that included Photo Mode, new difficulties and Decor Pikmin – Pikmin wearing random items as clothes like in Pikmin Bloom. But no Switch 2 enhancements like performance and visual upgrades and – in what would be an obvious slam dunk – mouse controls.

So imagine my surprise when the PEGI (Europe's ratings board) finally uploaded a rating for Pikmin on Switch 2, except it was instead for the five-year-old Pikmin 3 Deluxe, which itself is a re-release of the 12-year-old Wii U game. Other Switch 2 games like Super Mario Odyssey have this secondary rating on the PEGI website, so based on that it looks like Pikmin 3 Deluxe is going to get a free Switch 2 update – but not a 'Nintendo Switch 2 Edition', as those have separate ratings on the site (as seen with Zelda: Breath of the Wild).

Obviously, the choice to update Pikmin 3 first is surprising given its age, but this could mean (read: I'm really hoping) that Nintendo has bigger plans for Pikmin 4. Games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land received DLC expansions alongside their Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases, so maybe a new area to explore in Pikmin 4 could be in the cards alongside the expected upgrades? Please.

Despite being the father of Mario, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has once again affirmed Pikmin is his favourite child: "I spent a lot of time the past 5, 6 years really wanting to grow Pikmin."