The gaming industry has always had its fair share of rumors. Some of them come from a point of credibility, based on hard evidence and speculation, such as with rumors that Breath of the Wild 2 would release in 2020. Unfortunately, it looks like Nintendo's highly anticipated title will likely release next year instead. Other times, rumors come from a place of clout, with anonymous users claiming to be "datamining" information, which turns up utterly false.
With all of its delays, surprises, and disappointments, 2020 has been a roller coaster of a year—not to mention the turnover between console generations. Here are some of the most renowned rumors to come out of this year that turned out to be false.
Nintendo Switch Pro
In 2019, rumors of a premium model of the Nintendo Switch began circulating, which isn't a surprise after its previous handheld consoles, the DS and 3DS, had upgraded hardware releases to follow up. Additionally, the Switch is a bit behind the standards of current gaming in terms of 60 fps and 4k graphics, and it's been thought that the rumored Switch Pro would make these enhancements to bring its gameplay experience up to par with the new PS5 and Xbox Series X.
While the Switch Pro is rumored to be in development, it's just much farther out than gamers initially thought. One rumor that fans clung to was the idea that the Switch Pro would release on March 3rd, 2021, the base Switch's 4-year birthday. But recently, Nintendo of America's President Bowser reported that the company will be focusing on the current Switch models for the time being. He also commented that Nintendo is changing the trajectory of the standard console life-cycle. Based on these comments, it would be surprising to see a Switch Pro release in 2021 at all.
A Hefty Price Tag on the PS5
When the PS3 launched in 2006, it was priced at $599 and players were outraged. This put a large dent in the console's overall sales, and consumers feared a similar situation with the pricing of the PS5 after Sony and Microsoft played chicken with the price unveil throughout 2020. There was a slew of rumors claiming a supposed price for the PS5, such as an Amazon listing that set the price at €599.99, which currently equates to over $730. Of course, this was later debunked when the PS5's standard edition was announced to be $499 and the digital-only version to be $399. However, according to a report, this may have been Sony's response to the Series X by slashing the PS5's price tag down considerably.
The Last of Us 2 on PC
Partially thanks to Horizon: Zero Dawn getting ported to the PC, several rumors have surfaced of other PS4 exclusives getting shipped to PCs as well, such as Bloodborne, which still looks to be on the table. After Last of Us Part 2 released, headlines began surfacing that a PC version would be coming shortly after. Some sources say this is due to an alleged Naughty Dog job listing while others say to have seen a PC version of TLOU2 leaked by Amazon, but Sony quickly debunked this listing as inaccurate.
In terms of The Last of Us 2, it's likely in Sony's best profitable interest to not release a PC version so shortly after, though it may come further down the line. PS4 players were also livid after the announcement of Horizon on PC. Also, it's worth noting that The Last of Us never released for PC, and though it doesn't necessarily mean that Naughty Dog's hit series will never come to PC, the developer is not known for porting its games.
Pokemon Master Collection
A recent rumor too good to be true was the hype for a 'Pokemon Master Collection,' which would have brought many classic Pokemon games to the Switch. It's common to see Pokemon rumors similar to this pop up from time to time, but thanks to veteran Pokefans, this news was quickly pulled apart as fake. First, the Twitter account that initially posted the alleged leak has now been suspended and the tweet was reportedly filled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Furthermore, Joe Merrick, webmaster of Seberbii and Pokemon news, looked into it and deemed it as false.
Though this piece of news turned out to be fake, next year is still Pokemon's 25th anniversary, meaning the franchise likely has big plans to celebrate. As for the rumor that Diamond and Pearl remakes are due on the Switch next year, fans will have to wait and see.
Cyberpunk Delayed (Again)
Cyberpunk 2077, the hottest game in the news right now, suffered multiple delayed throughout 2020. Originally, the open-world game was planned to release back in April, but because of Covid-19 restrictions, the game was pushed back, then a couple of more times after that, finally resulting in a December 10th release date. Following this, an established leaker claimed it was going to get delayed again. However, CDPR quickly debunked rumors that Cyberpunk 2077 would see another setback.
It's not outlandish that this rumor surfaced, though. Around this time, developers on the project expressed concerns that Cyberpunk would need many more months of attention to finish off and be satisfactory. Though CD Projekt Red denied these rumors, wanting to finally deliver the highly-anticipated game, in light of its disastrous release, perhaps it would have been better if this rumor turned out to be true.
Elden Ring at The Game Awards
Announced at 2019's E3 conference, Elden Ring has since been hotly anticipated among the gaming community. Hopes for more news surrounding the upcoming RPG have been high prior to nearly every conference of 2020, such as with the Xbox event earlier this year. However, it looks like FromSoftware is keeping its cards close to its chest with this one.
Likewise, a rumor surfaced that Elden Ring would appear at The Game Awards earlier this month, in the form of another trailer or an update of some kind. This didn't come to fruition, unfortunately, or at least not in the way fans would have hoped. Funnily enough, Elden Ring took home the award for Anticipated Game. This is accurate, to say the least, because yet another rumor of Elden Ring news has surfaced, making the claim that news of FromSoftware's newest triple-A title is coming in the next few months.