‘Pikmin 4’ finally has an official release date and will feature a new pet dog and night sequences.

Nintendo first announced the latest installment in the ‘Pikmin’ franchise was on the way in 2015, but only confirmed in Wednesday’s (08.02.23) Nintendo Direct gaming update it was getting a release date of 21 July on Nintendo Switch.

Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto reminded fans in September it was still in the pipeline by sharing a logo and a release window of 2023.

One of the new features on the new trailer for the strategy and puzzle game shows makers have swapped the game’s overhead camera for an over-the-shoulder point of view that will bring players closer to the action of the pikmins’ miniature world.

Players have previously controlled a race of plant-like creatures called pikmin, using them to fight enemies, collect items and solve puzzles, and the next installment seems to follow the same format going by the new trailer.

There also appears to be a night-time cycle in the gameplay and an ice-style pikmin that can freeze enemies and water.

The non-narrated trailer also showed the addition of a dog companion called Oatchi capable of smashing through walls and carrying loads and pikmin as they try to colonise new territory on Earth.

Beyond the additions, the story isn’t clear from the trailer.

‘Pikmin 3’ launched for the Wii U in the summer of 2013, and ported to Switch in late 2020.