Release Dates For Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl & Legends Arceus
Over recent years Nintendo has tended to keep its release date schedule close to its chest, often revealing launch information just a month or two in advance. The complete opposite happened today when it announced that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl would be coming to the Switch on November 19, 2021. This date was pretty much a shoe-in given that these games tend to come out in November and close to Black Friday in America. Still, that’s almost six months away and it’s nice to see Nintendo solidify some of its lineup for the year release date wise. Those that plan to purchase both games can also pick up a special double pack for $119.99 on the same date. In the past there were usually some digital perks to doing so (like Pokéballs or whatnot), but as of this writing Nintendo hasn’t mentioned any extras.
What’s more surprising is that Pokémon Legends Arceus, a game just shown off a few months ago for the first time and originally given a “Spring 2022” release date is now confirmed to come out on January 28, 2022. This is not only sooner than I expected (I figured March to May of next year), but it’s also arriving only about 60 days after the other Pokémon games release. The footage of this title looked a bit on the rough side, so here’s hoping Game Freak can polish things up in the graphics department. Still, Pokémon fans are going to have their hands full late this year and early into next.
I can’t help but notice this leaves March 2022 wide open now and I can’t help but wonder if that’s where the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will land. It would mark the 5th anniversary of the Switch launch as well. I hope it comes sooner than that, but time will tell! Here’s hoping Nintendo continues this new trend of announcing release dates far in advance. It makes it much easier to plan out purchases!
Also look forward to a double pack featuring both games to be released on the same day! pic.twitter.com/cR0dMFoAW5
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 26, 2021
Set long before the events of #PokemonBrilliantDiamond & #PokemonShiningPearl, #PokemonLegendsArceus takes the series in a new direction, fusing action & RPG elements.
Create the Sinnoh region’s first Pokédex when Pokémon Legends: Arceus arrives 1/28/22!https://t.co/sndZKShGvh pic.twitter.com/lBLQsuRzON
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 26, 2021
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
