Pokémon Legends: Arceus exact release time, when can you pre-load, and file size

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the most ambitious title in the franchise yet, taking place in the ancient past and introducing new variants of classic Pokémon. To properly prepare before you head out to the Hisui region, below is everything you will need to know about the release time of the game, when you can pre-load it, and what is the file size.

When can you pre-load Pokémon Legends: Arceus?

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available to pre-load for digital players right now on the Nintendo Switch. You can purchase the game on the Nintendo eShop, and download it ahead of its release date. Pre-loading won’t make the game playable for you; it will just make the game available to play as soon as the release date hits.

Pre-loading bonus

If you download the game on the Nintendo eShop before March, you will be gifted with a Serial Code for 30 Heavy Balls.

Related: Pokemon Legends: Arceus Pre-order Bonus Guide – Which retailers provide which pre-order bonuses?

Pokémon Legends: Arceus exact release time — When can you play it?

If you have Pokémon Legends: Arceus pre-loaded digitally, then you can play it almost instantly on its release date, January 28. Typically, a digital game becomes available around midnight the night before the release day. But the timeframe in the US usually follows Eastern Standard Time, which means that players who follow the Pacific Standard Time can play the game a few hours before the midnight release date.

Midnight ET is generally 9 PM PT, so if you live in the Pacific Time Zone, you may be capable of playing the game early. However, sometimes that doesn’t always work with certain games, so you may still need to wait for midnight.

File Size of Legends: Arceus

The Pokémon Legends: Arceus pre-load file will not be taking too much space on your Switch. Early signs show the game’s pre-load to be 6GB, though that does not include any potential day 1 patch the game may receive on the release date. We will get a better understanding of the full file size of the game when it releases on January 25.