How to play Pokémon Legends: Arceus early

As the first Pokémon game of its kind, it’s difficult not to get excited about Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ release. Perhaps you’re even too excited to wait for it to drop on Jan. 28. This begs the question: is there any way to play the game early?

If you want to play Pokémon Legends: Arceus early, your Nintendo Switch’s region needs to be set to an area with one of the earlier timezones in the world, like Australia/New Zealand. Go to System > Region to change it. You will have to accept a new End-User License Agreement to complete the process. Then, purchase the game digitally from Nintendo eShop using a new account set to that region.

Related: Nintendo releases Overview Trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus trailer ahead of the release

However, if you have already pre-ordered and pre-loaded the game using your personal and very local Nintendo account, you will have no choice but to wait for it to unlock on release day.

When does Pokémon Legends: Arceus unlock?

Pokémon Legends: Arceus will unlock on Jan. 28 12am ET in The Americas. This means that if you live on the west coast, you can get it as early as 9pm on Jan. 27. So really, the best move is to wait. You’ll have the entire weekend to play anyway.

For more help with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, we at Pro Game Guides have you covered.