The excitement surrounding the upcoming release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A may be tempered somewhat by the rumor that the game will not be designed specifically for the Switch 2. When Pokemon Legends: Z-A was first announced for a 2025 release, many assumed it would launch for Nintendo’s new console slated to release the same year. However, new reports suggest Legends: Z-A may be released with the original Switch in mind, following a common pattern for the series.
According to a recent rumor regarding the company’s Pokemon Day presentation plans, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will be the focus of the event, but the game is allegedly planned to be released for the original Switch, not the Switch 2. While the Switch 2 will still be able to run the game thanks to its backward compatibility, some fans are disappointed by the fact that it won’t be designed to natively run on the new console’s more powerful hardware. This isn’t the first time the Pokemon series has released a game on older hardware after a new console has dropped, marking the continuation of a recent series trend.
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Why Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Leaked Release Date Holds a Lot of Water
The release date of Pokemon Legends: Z-A has leaked and while it’s a strange one for the series, it actually makes a lot of sense.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Potentially Missing Switch 2 Optimizations is Disappointing, But Not Surprising
Pokemon Games Have a History of Lagging Behind New Console Releases
Longtime Pokemon fans are likely aware of the series’ near-annual release schedule, but that schedule hasn’t always lined up with the release of Nintendo consoles in a convenient way. There have been instances in the past where a new console has already been released, but the latest Pokemon game ends up releasing on the previous generation’s hardware.
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 are the most obvious examples, released on the DS nearly a year after the 3DS was launched. The first mainline 3DS Pokemon games weren’t released until 2013 with Pokemon X and Y, two years after the 3DS’ release. A similar situation happened in 2017, when Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released for the 3DS only a few months after the Switch launched, and the series wouldn’t see its first mainline release on the Switch until 2018 with the release of Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Can Still Be a Great Stop-Gap Game Ahead of Gen 10
Although Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set to be the first Pokemon game of the Switch 2 era, it has yet to be seen what the first Pokemon game designed specifically for the new console will be. It’s possible that the franchise will take a page out of the previous console generation’s book and release Gen 2 Pokemon Let’s Go games, or the persistent rumors of Gen 5 remakes could manifest on the new console as well. Whatever the case may be, the trend that the series is currently following makes it seem like Pokemon Gen 10 will still be a couple of years away.
Thankfully, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will still be playable on the Switch 2 due to the new console’s backward compatibility, even if it is largely designed for the original Switch. Much like how Black 2 and White 2 were technically playable on the 3DS while being designed for the original DS, Legends: Z-A may not take full advantage of the new hardware’s potential. Even still, Pokemon Legends: Z-A should be a great game to fill the gap between the current Switch’s Pokemon game line-up and the first true Switch 2 Pokemon experience.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an ambitious new entry to the Pokémon video game series, releasing simultaneously worldwide in 2025. A new adventure awaits within Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.
- Franchise
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Pokemon
- Released
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2025