Release date, price and more

Nintendo held a packed Direct in September, and among some of its many big reveals was the announcement of a brand new Pokemon spinoff, Pokemon Pokopia. A game while, unlike anything Pokemon has ever done before, seems to have taken inspiration from Minecraft, Animal Crossing, and there might even be a bit of Dragon Quest Builders too.

In Pokopia, you are a ditto who has taken human form and is building a life for yourself and the other Pokemon you find along the way. These Pokémon can use their moves to help you farm, build, harvest, and perform whatever other tasks you may be faced with as you make your way to your own little corner of Pokopia.

Pokemon Pokopia will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 5, 2026, and below you will find everything you need to know about how and where to place your pre-order.

Pre-order Pokemon Pokopia

You might think that a Pokemon spinoff would be cheaper than the series' mainline game, but that's where you'd be wrong. Pokopia is a full price first party Switch 2 game. No, don't worry, that doesn't mean it costs $80. Mario Kart World remains the expensive exception to that rule. No, Pokopia is $69.99. Possibly a little more expensive than you'd expect, since we've probably still shown very little of what the game has to offer.

squirtle looks at a ditto human using bubble in poke copy.

If Pokopia's price hasn't put you off, links to everywhere you can snag $70 off a Pokopia pre-order are below.

Where to pre-order Pokopia

Pokopia will be available both digitally and physically, and the latter caused a bit of a stir when the Pokemon spinoff's release date was confirmed. Nintendo used a Pokopia card to demonstrate how its game key card works. Game key cards have been a hot topic for Nintendo since the Switch 2 launched. The cards don't actually include the game, but instead are keys that trigger a digital download when inserted into your Switch 2 for the first time, hence their name.

Game keycards have been limited to third-party releases for the Switch 2's first few months. However, Pokopia has bucked that trend and will be the first game published by Nintendo to use a game key card. It is still believed that the size of the cards offered by Nintendo – none less than 64GB – is why studios resort to game key cards.

That's where Pokopia's game key card silver lining comes in. According to Pokopia's store page, the new Pokemon game is only 10GB. This means that while it will need to be installed on your Switch 2, it won't take up much space on your console. No need to uninstall to make space and then reinstall every time you want to go back to your Pokemon home, something that would have been especially annoying for a life sim that, if it turns out the way Pokemon wants it, fans will be playing regularly for years, like Animal Crossing.

No pre-order bonuses have been announced for Pokopia yet. However, that doesn't mean there won't be any. Pre-order bonuses for Pokemon Legends: ZA were revealed gradually and differed depending on the region and where you pre-ordered. Hopefully it will be the same for Pokopia, and bonuses, along with more pre-order links, will be added to this article as they are revealed.

Pokemon turns 30 in 2026

Pokopia is set to kick off what could be one of the biggest years in recent history for Pokemon. 2026 will mark 30 years since the release of Pokemon Red & Green, and you know The Pokemon Company will have quite a few things in the pipeline to mark the occasion, not only through video games but also through TCG, merchandise and more.

level 120 alpha corviknight in pokemon legends za.

Pokopia launches a week after Pokemon Day. Not only does that mean we'll probably get a final trailer for the Ditto-led life sim on February 27th, but when it does, we'll know more about what else Pokemon has planned. At the very least I expect more DLC for Pokemon Legends: ZA, and a first look at the Gen 10 games. But if Pokemon takes requests, all I really want is another Pokemon Snap.

FAQ

Will Pokemon Pokopia be Playabale on Switch 1?

No, you won't be able to play Pokopia on an original Switch.

Will Pokemon Pokopia have multiplayer?

Yes, up to four people can play Pokopia together at the same time.

Will Pokopia have online features?

Neither Nintendo nor Pokemon have detailed whether Pokopia will have online functionality; however, the promise of four-person multiplayer strongly implies that it will have at least some online features.