Pokémon Pokopia: Release date, launch times, gameplay and trailer

Animal Crossing meets Pokémon meets Dragon Quest Builders meets Minecraft meets probably a few other things – Pokémon Pokopia releases this week!

We've already been playing it for our Pokopia review – spoiler alert, it's pretty darn good.

It comes from the Omega Force, the team behind Dragon Quest Builders and Dynasty Warriors of all things, and brings Pokémon's creature collection to a cozy world of building and decorating.

If you can't wait to get started revamping your island, here's the lowdown on the Pokémon Pokopia release date, launch times and what you can expect!

When is Pokémon Pokopia's release date and UK launch time?

Pokémon Pokopia releases on 5 March 2026 at midnight GMT.

In fact, the game will release at midnight in every country's easternmost time zone. For countries with just one timezone, that just means midnight, but for players in the US that means midnight EST, which translates to 9pm PST, 10pm MST and 11pm CST.

The game will be released both physically and digitally, though the physical version will be as a Game-Key Card — meaning you'll still have to fully download the game after inserting the cartridge – boooooo.

Pokémon Pokopia gameplay details

A life simulation game that's also a spin-off of Game Freak's mainline series, Pokémon Pokopia sees you control a Ditto taking the form of a human, and tasks you with creating your own home – indeed, being a hybrid with the Pokémon formula and the Animal Crossing series' style of gameplay.

Players can use moves they learn from wild Pokémon to collect resources like wood and rocks, which can then be used to craft all sorts of buildings, furniture, and flora for their home.

As players make their home more inviting by adding in specific buildings and plants, more different species of Pokémon will appear, in turn giving you even more moves with which to improve your home further.

The game even features a variety of biomes and weather, as well as a day/night cycle, all of which will affect the look of your home as well as the species of Pokémon that can appear.

In the style of Nintendo's previous smash hit life sim, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players are encouraged to take things slowly, building out their home over time through a rather laid-back gameplay loop.

Is there a Pokémon Pokopia trailer?

Reveal trailer

Yes, there are two Pokémon Pokopia trailers available to watch right now, with the first being used to reveal the game at the Nintendo Direct in September 2025.

Extended gameplay trailer

In November 2025, the Pokémon Company and Nintendo released a full deep dive into Pokopia: giving us a ten-minute sample of exactly what building your new Pokémon-Animal Crossing-esque paradise will look like.

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