When do Pokémon Scarlet and Violet come out? What time do the games unlock? And is it possible to get the game early? We can answer all your questions, and maybe some that you didn't even know you had, right here on Nintendo Life!
The two Pokémon games can be pre-ordered on the Switch eShop ahead of their release this week, either separately or as a double-pack, and are also available to pre-load so you can hit the road running as soon as the games unlock.
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Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Release Date And Time
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on Friday, November 18th. Nintendo does not announce release times, so these are a best-guess based on previous first-party game unlocks:
- North America
- East Coast US: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am, ET
- West Coast US: Thursday 17th November 2022, 9:00pm, PT
- Europe
- UK: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am GMT
- Rest of Europe: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am CEST
How To Get Pokémon Scarlet Or Violet Early
You may have noticed that the times above miss out a large part of the world — namely, Australia, New Zealand, and East Asia. Those regions sometimes get access to the game even earlier, but because the timing varies so much, we're unable to say for sure. It's only a matter of hours, but that might feel like an age if your Poké Ball hand is twitching.
If you set up an Australian account on your Switch you might be able to download Pokémon Scarlet or Violet early. You can still play the game using your regular Switch user account, but the game will be tied to the account which is region-set to Australia — so make sure you use an email account you have access to!
You'll need to pay for it in Aussie currency, too, but don't worry about setting up an overseas credit card — just grab yourself some Australian eShop credit.
Note. If in the future you buy and transfer your data to a new Nintendo Switch, you'll have to redownload the game from the Australian eShop using the Australian Nintendo Account you set up. It'll still be accessible, no problem, but it's something to keep in mind — you're able to download the game from any old region's eShop, only the one where you made the initial purchase.
File Size
You'll need 7GB of space for the game, plus an extra 1GB for a day-one update. If you purchase the Double Pack, that'll be 14GB and 2GB extra for the updates.
Version Differences
We've got a detailed and exhaustive guide on this already, but in summary, Scarlet is themed around the colour red and the past, and Violet is themed around the colour purple and the future. You can see all version-exclusive Pokémon and other differences here:
Get 10% Off Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Digital Editions
As part of our huge Black Friday sale, we're currently offering 10% off the digital editions of both games. If you're in the UK/Europe, simply add your chosen game(s) to your basket and use code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout:
![Pokémon Violet [Download Code - UK/EU]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/21241/100x100.png)
![Pokémon Scarlet [Download Code - UK/EU]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/21242/100x100.png)
For those of you in the US, we sadly don't have the games available as codes. You can, however, get 10% off the required eShop credit and save that way instead. The games cost $59.99 each, so simply add $60 worth of credit to your basket, use code BLACKFRIDAY to get 10% off, and you'll effectively be able to buy the game and have a spare $5 of credit left over!
Pre-Order And Early Purchase Bonuses
Make sure to check our guide to pre-ordering for discounts:
| Store | Pre-Order or Purchase? | Bonus rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Anywhere | Purchase before 28th February 2023 |
|
| Anywhere | Purchase before 28th February 2023 | Flying Tera Type Pikachu |
| Anywhere (Double Pack only) | Purchase |
|
| Amazon UK | Pre-order |
|
| Amazon US | Pre-order |
|
| Best Buy | Pre-order |
|
| My Nintendo Store UK | Pre-order |
|
| GameStop (Double Pack only) | Pre-order |
|
| Target (Double Pack only) | Pre-order |
|
| GAME | Pre-order |
|
| The Game Collection | Pre-order |
|
Here's a selection of places to pre-order or buy from if you don't care about the bonuses:
UK
US
Rest of the World
We hope this answered all of your release date questions. If you have any more — or if you want to tell us which version you're getting — head down into the comments to have your say!
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