Pokemon Legends: Arceus stands to be a revolutionary entry in the series, taking it into the open-world genre for the first time. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced to be released in early 2022, a new leak suggests that its release date isn't set in stone yet.
The game was announced back in February during the series' 25th-anniversary celebration. The announcement was quite a surprise for Pokemon fans, as not only was it a drastic new look for the series, but because it also followed the announcement of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl that same day. With both being developed by Game Freak, fans have a lot of new Pokemon to look forward to.
Little is still known about Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and little has been shown of the game since the announcement showed off a short gameplay trailer. While no other official news about the title has been released, popular leaks Twitter account CentroLeaks translated a report from French outlet Kelios saying that the game's release date has not been set. The reported reason is that Nintendo has another large title that is aiming for a release in early 2022, meaning that the ambitious Pokemon Legends: Arceus may be pushed back to not compete with that release.
Both Kelios and Centro have a track record of announcing accurate leaks. The outlets do say, however, that the title's release date is planned to be solidified later this year, but they do not offer any information on what the big release is that Nintendo has planned for early 2022, although Kelios did tease other users in the comments of their tweet about it. Nintendo is slated to present at this year's E3, so it is possible that the company will either provide an update on the title there or give some more information on what big title is planned for early next year.
While the news is far from official, the accuracy of the accounts in the past, as well as Nintendo's history of spacing its biggest releases out over time, make the leak very believable. As for what big title might be pushing Pokemon Legends: Arceus out of its release window, it is hard to say. Many Nintendo fans are waiting for news on the follow-up to Breath of the Wild, or it could be a long-awaited update on Metroid Prime 4 that was announced in 2017. Of course, it is also possible that Pokemon Legends: Arceus could keep to its original release window, or that plans could change between now and early 2022.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is currently slated to launch in early 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
