Pikmin 4 still progressing but Miyamoto can’t talk about it

At least you can get the man himself assuring you it’s still a thing.

It’s hard to think of a more universally beloved figure in the video game industry than Shigeru Miyamoto, and he’s already had a big week at E3 2017. First Ubisoft trotted him out to help introduce Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, a game that defies all logic by looking amazing. Then he got to bask in the glory of the well-received Super Mario Odyssey trailer.

But Miyamoto-san is the man behind more franchises still, and people can’t help but ask him about the ones Nintendo doesn’t show in any given year. In this case, that means Pikmin, which we last saw on Wii U four years ago with Pikmin 3.

There’s been talk about Pikmin 4, some of it by Miyamoto himself, but nothing as of late. Eurogamer, though, got a confirmation that it’s still in the works — and mot much else:

"“I’ve been told not to share anything about this from PR,” Miyamoto laughed, “but I can tell you it is progressing.”"

First rule of Pikmin 4: don’t talk about Pikmin 4!

Bad movie reference jokes aside, it’s comforting to know that the franchise hasn’t been forgotten. Nintendo seems to be making a real push to ensure all of its biggest first-party IPs join the Switch lineup in relatively short order — hence the announcements of new Metroid and Kirby titles — and while Pikmin probably doesn’t quite belong in that top tier, it’s certainly no worse than the next one down.

Next: More on the Metroid Prime 4 reveal

As well, the new controls and possibilities of the Switch seem like a good match for the creativity of Miyamoto and company. Here’s hoping that by E3 2018, Nintendo PR decides that Pikmin 4 is far enough along that it’s okay for its esteemed creator to tell us more.