Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Key art featuring the playable characters Rei (left) and Akari (right) along with their Pokémon
DeveloperGame Freak
Publishers
DirectorKazumasa Iwao
Producers
DesignerYuichi Murase
ProgrammerKazuki Saita
ArtistSuguru Nakatsui
WriterToshinobu Matsumiya
Composers
SeriesPokémon
PlatformNintendo Switch
Release28 January 2022
GenresAction role-playing, Monster tamer
ModeSingle-player

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo Switch. It is part of the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series and serves as a prequel to the fourth-generation titles Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2006). The game was first announced as part of the Pokémon 25th Anniversary event in February 2021, and was released worldwide on 28 January 2022.

The game follows the protagonist, who is sent back in time and travels through the Hisui region, which is based on the island of Hokkaido during early Japanese colonization. The game is centered around exploration of the region's several open areas populated with Pokémon, with its main objective being to complete the Pokédex by catching all Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a commercial success, having sold over 14.83 million copies by 31 March 2023. It was also a critical success, receiving generally favourable reviews, and being nominated for several end of the year awards, including Best RPG at The Game Awards. A second Legends game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, was released in 2025.