Are you ready to catch — then Mega Evolve — ’em all over again? Pokémon Legends: Z-A is finally almost upon us, with its launch set for October 16, priced at $59.99 for Nintendo Switch or $69.99 for Switch 2.
If you don’t have a Switch 2 yet but think you might upgrade in future (perhaps you’re waiting until the holidays for a new console?) you can pick up Pokémon Legends Z-A’s Switch 1 version now and then grab the game’s $9.99 Switch 2 Upgrade Pack when you’re ready.
Last but not least, you can already buy Pokémon Legends: Z-A: Mega Dimension, a paid DLC which will add two new Mega Evolutions for Raichu and fresh story content. The bulk of this won’t come until after the game’s launch, though buying it now will unlock extra costume items immediately.
You can already pre-load Pokémon Legends: Z-A now via the Nintendo eShop, including the game’s day one update. You’ll need 4.1GB of free space on Nintendo Switch, or 7.7GB of free space on Switch 2.
In the run-up to the game’s launch, it’s worth being wary of spoilers — datamining work has already begun on the game after physical copies were spotted in the wild. Indeed, IGN has seen word of some of the all-new Mega Pokémon included in the game — though we won’t spoil them here.
Set in Kalos, home of the Mega Pokémon mechanic, Pokémon Legends: Z-A adds the first new batch of superpowered creatures to the franchise’s Mega Pokédex in over a decade, although no all-new Pokémon species are expected. To date, The Pokémon Company has revealed just a handful of the new Mega Pokémon expected to make up the game’s final roster of fresh Mega species. How many will feature in the final game? You’ll just have to play and find out.
As with other Nintendo game launches, digital copies of Pokémon Legends: Z-A are expected to unlock within your local region as soon as it hits 12am (midnight) on Thursday, October 16.
But in the U.S., previous Nintendo game launches have treated the whole country as a singular region, meaning those in timezones behind Eastern (i.e. Central, Mountain and Pacific time) all get to play late on Wednesday, October 15.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A global release times:
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
PDT (San Francisco):
CST (Mexico City):
Thursday, October 16, 2025
EDT (New York):
BRT (Sao Paulo):
BST (London):
CEST (Paris, Rome, Berlin):
EEST (Turkey):
UTC (New Delhi):
ICT (Hanoi):
HKT (Hong Kong):
CST (Beijing):
JST (Tokyo):
AEST (Sydney):
Ready to get started? IGN has guides to Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Characters and Starter Pokemon, its Mega Dimension DLC, all the New Mega Pokemon in Legends Z-A and also a full Pokedex (List of Pokemon) so you can plan which creatures to go catch first.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
