Pokemon fans have been asking for a cozy game in the Pokemon universe for a while now. So, plenty of us were thrilled when Pokemon Pokopia was revealed in the September 2025 Nintendo Direct. Since then, we’ve been treated to a few extended gameplay trailers that show off more of what the game has to offer. The first Switch 2 exclusive Pokemon game is set to arrive on March 5th, and with pre-orders going live, we now know what it costs. And honestly? I’m a little concerned.
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Pokemon spin-offs have always varied in price and scope. Some games, like New Pokemon Snap, have a pricetag that matches main series titles like Scarlet & Violet. Others, like Detective Pikachu, knock a few bucks off the price to match a shorter gameplay time. And then you have your freemium titles on Switch and mobile, such as Pokemon Friends or Cafe Remix. That means the price point for Pokopia wasn’t a given. But with pre-orders available at the Pokemon Center, we now know that Pokemon Pokopia will be $69.99. And that could be a deterrent for the game’s target audience.
Pokemon Pokopia Will Match Pokemon Legends: Z-A In Price, But Will Cozy Gamers Buy In?
At $69.99, Pokemon Pokopia matches the cost for the Switch 2 edition of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Indeed, this seems to be the new price point for most of Nintendo’s major Switch 2 releases going forward. Clearly, the Pokemon audience in general is used to paying $60-70 for a main series game. But with Pokemon Pokopia taking the series into new territory, I’m not sure it’s going to hit the mark with cozy gamers.
As the first-ever Pokemon life sim, Pokopia has two potential audiences. There are the diehard Pokemon fans who will play every new game, regardless of genre. And then, there are the Animal Crossing and Minecraft crowd who might be drawn to the title even if they’re not historically huge Pokemon fans. With its mechanics and vibe aimed at this so-called cozy gaming crowd, the price point could be a miss.
Games like Stardew Valley have set the price expectations for farming sims and similar genres fairly low. Stardew is just $14.99, and many cozy gamers aren’t willing to pay much more than that, even all these years later. This has been a big struggle for indie devs trying to enter the farming and life sim space for years. Granted, cozy gamers turning away from a high price tag isn’t always the case. After all, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a huge hit, and it costs $60 for Switch, $65 for Switch 2. With the right hype, cozy gaming fans will buy pricier games. But it’s always a bit of a gamble, particularly with something as untested as the first Pokemon life sim.
I have no doubt that plenty of Pokemon fans will still buy the game. There’s a good bit of crossover between people who love Pokemon and people who love life sims (like me). But I do wonder if a more modest pricetag could have opened the game up more beyond the Pokemon audience, to a more general cozy gaming crowd. With the release still a few months off, it’s hard to say for sure. And I don’t think the price is necessarily all bad news, either.
The Price Point for Pokopia Could Be Good News for Its Scope
Even though we’ve had a few good looks at Pokemon Pokopia, many gamers are still unsure of its scope. It is, after all, the first Pokemon life sim. If it’s highly story-driven, it could wind up being fairly short and sweet, like Tales of the Shire was. But if it’s got more open-ended, sandbox-style vibes to keep things going long-term a-la Animal Crossing, players could easily sink many hundreds of hours into Pokopia. It certainly seems like the game is targeting the latter model, but it will be hard to say for sure until it’s in gamers’ hands.
If there’s one upside to the higher pricetag for Pokopia, it’s that it does suggest a broader scope. There’s no denying that $70 feels like a steep price. But it does imply that the game’s scope will be more akin to a main series Pokemon game than a smaller spin-off. And that could be good news for gamers looking for the next life sim to take over our lives. Although my wallet isn’t thrilled at the game’s high price, it does leave me feeling hopeful there will be more to Pokemon Pokopia than I initially expected.
Pokemon Pokopia will release for the Nintendo Switch 2 on March 5th. It is currently available for pre-order at the Pokemon Center, with a Ditto plush pre-order bonus. You can also pre-order directly from Nintendo to snag an in-game Ditto rug.
Are you planning to pre-order Pokemon Pokopia or will you be waiting to see what others think before picking it up? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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