In a series as long-running and fruitful as Pokemon has been, the amount of spin-off titles whether it be eventual franchises or just one-time experiences is staggering. From Stadium to Snap And to the current phenomenons of Pokemon Go and Pokemon TCG Pocket it would be easy for The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and Nintendo to rest on their laurels. Instead, they all work together to continue innovating on what Pokemon can be. Whether it be something familiar like Pokemon Champions or even a totally new step for the franchise such as its latest release Pokemon Pokopia, which has now surpassed 2.2 million sold in a matter of four days after its release on March 5, 2026 according to the Pokemon Company and Nintendo.
Pokemon Pokopia Fever
The Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive launched amidst rave reviews from critics, with the game currently sitting at an 89 on both Opencritic and Metacritic making it the highest rated Pokemon game ever.
Soon the fever for the game took over as reports started surfacing that physical copies of the game were selling out across many stores in the UK and even went temporarily out of stock on Amazon as well. Those same reports suggest that both Nintendo and The Pokemon Company may not have supplied stores with many copies anticipating the game would have a more modest launch. But even with Pokemon Pokopia‘s physical version being the dreaded Game Keycard it seemingly did not derailed the purchase of physical copies at all, with the press release also indicating that at least 1 million of the amount sold comes from Japan.
Even Nintendo E-Shop digital cards may have been in shorter supply than usual due a sudden uptick from so many wanting to purchase the game, as it took almost a full 24 hours for me to receive my code for a $70 E-Shop card I ordered off Gamestop’s website specifically to purchase Pokopia.
What is the Game?
Pokemon Pokopia is a task driven Survival game similar to that of the Dragon Quest Builders/I> series where the player is put into the shoes of a Ditto that can transform into human form and can use special moves from any Pokemon they meet to create resources such as using Bulbasaur’s vines to make tall grass or Charmander’s flame to heat up objects. Once more Pokemon are discovered more tasks, special moves, and resources become available. Promising hundreds of Pokemon to find and other surprises to uncover. Its no wonder so many have become entranced by Pokopia so far.
Source: The Pokemon Company
