Are you ready to catch them and then play Mega Evolve, all over again? Pokemon Legends: ZA is finally almost here, launching on October 16th for $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 the future (perhaps you're waiting for the holidays for a new console?), you can purchase the Switch 1 version of Pokémon Legends ZA right now, and then get the Switch 2 upgrade pack for $9.99 when you're ready.
Last but not least, you can already buy Pokémon Legends: ZA: Mega Dimensionpaid DLC that will add two new mega evolutions for Raichu and fresh story content. The bulk of this won't appear until after you launch the game, although purchasing now will immediately unlock additional costume items.
You can already pre-download Pokémon Legends: ZA via the Nintendo eShop, including the Day 1 update. You'll need 4.1 GB of free space on Nintendo Switch or 7.7 GB of free space on Switch 2.
Ahead of the game's launch beware of spoilers “Data collection work has already begun after physical copies were discovered in the wild. Indeed, IGN has seen information about some brand new Mega Pokemon being included in the game – although we won't spoil them here.
The story takes place in Kalos, home of the Mega Pokémon mechanic. Pokémon Legends: ZA adds the first new batch of super-powered creatures to the franchise's Mega Pokédex in over a decade.although completely new types of Pokemon are not expected. To date, The Pokémon Company has only revealed a few new Mega Pokémon, which are expected to make up the game's final list of new Mega species. How many of them will be in the final game? You just have to play and find out.
As with other Nintendo games, digital copies of Pokémon Legends: ZA are expected to be unlocked in your local region as soon as 12am (midnight) hits on Thursday, October 16th.
But in the US, previous Nintendo game launches have treated the entire country as a single region, meaning those in time zones behind Eastern Time (i.e. Central, Mountain and Pacific Time) will be able to play late on Wednesday, October 15th.
Pokémon Legends: ZA release time in the world:
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):
For (Türkiye):
UTC (New Delhi):
ICT (Hanoi):
HKT (Hong Kong):
CST (Beijing):
JST (Tokyo):
AEST (Sydney):
Ready to get started? IGN has guides for Pokémon Legends: ZA's. Characters And Starter Pokemonhis Mega Dimension Add-onAll New Mega Pokemon in Legends ZA as well as complete Pokédex (list of Pokemon) so you can plan which creatures to catch first.
Tom Phillips is news editor at IGN. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
