UPDATE 26/05/2021: Nintendo has announced Pokémon Legends: Arceus' release date to be early in 2022. 

The Pokémon Company and Game Freak confirmed during Pokémon's 25th anniversary livestream event that an open-world game titled Pokémon Legends: Arceus is in development for Nintendo Switch. The upcoming release has drawn comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, since it will focus on delivering more of a vast RPG experience than any other Pokémon game before it. So when is Pokémon Legends: Arceus' release date on Switch?

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in the Sinnoh region from Generation 4, and it will introduce an array of new gameplay elements. Instead of running through the grass to find Pokémon, players can hide in tall grass to sneak up behind pocket monsters and capture them with steam-powered Pokéballs. The game appears to have retained the series' classic turn-based battling, with some minor changes. In a press release, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company reassured fans that, while Pokémon Legends: Arceus will depart from the traditional Pokémon formula, the developers will "[honor] the core gameplay" of past releases.

Related: Why Pokémon Red & Green Were Changed To Red & Blue Outside Japan

An open-world Pokémon game has been a long time coming, especially since recent releases like Pokémon Sword and Shield have pivoted to 3D graphics. Pokémon Legends: Arceus will go where no other Game Freak game has ventured before, but fans will have to wait a bit for its launch.

When Is the Pokémon Legends: Arceus Release Date?

Arceus floating in a multicolored sky in the Pokémon anime.

The Pokémon Company and Game Freak revealed Pokémon Legends: Arceus will be released in early 2022. The companies didn't specify an exact release date just yet, but expect the game to release somewhere between January and April 2022, barring any unforeseen delays. That means the BotW-like Pokémon game could be more than a year away, but there will be plenty of other pocket monster-themed games to keep gamers busy, in the meantime.

Two remakes of Pokémon's Gen 4 titles, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, have been confirmed for late 2021. The upcoming games will feature the top-down perspective from the original Gen 4 releases with some textural improvements and full 3D graphics during battles. Finally, New Pokémon Snap will be available for Switch on April 30, 2021, serving as a follow-up to 1999's Pokémon Snap and letting players roam around the Lental region to take pictures of wild Pokémon.

There's plenty to look forward to for Pokémon fans and Nintendo Switch owners alike. This year will see the release of three new Pokémon titles, and they'll all just be warmups for the new era of the franchise that Pokémon Legends: Arceus will usher in.

Next: Why Legendary Pokémon Aren't As Important As They Should Be