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Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Diamond/Pearl remakes get release dates

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond all have official release dates.

Nintendo announced all three games at a Pokémon Direct earlier this year, but only gave release windows for each. The new dates line up with those original projections.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is scheduled to launch on January 28, 2022. The new title is an open-world twist on the franchise that looks closer to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild than a traditional turn-based RPG. It will retail for $60 and pre-orders for the game are available now.

#PokemonLegendsArceus.
January 28, 2022.

🏔️🌅🌲 Preorders available now: https://t.co/8cj1aajObs pic.twitter.com/ACSm9EeIzT

— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 26, 2021

As expected, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are coming out just in time for the holiday season this year. Both titles will launch on November 19. The anticipated games are remakes of the classic Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. Fans of the series had been begging for an update on the games for years prior to its announcement. Pre-orders are open now and each game is $60.

Fans who want to buy both will be able to get a double pack. The Nintendo online shop lists the price at $120, so there doesn’t appear to be any extra savings for buying the bundle vs getting each game separately.

The surprise announcement comes ahead of Nintendo’s E3 plans, which are still unknown. The company usually broadcasts a digital Direct showcase around E3, but it has yet to confirm that. An announcement like this would usually be reserved for E3, raising questions about what Nintendo plans to do for the show. Considering the news, it seems likely that all three games could get more information during the event.

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