14 November 2025

New Pokemon Game Pokopia Comes With a Massive Catch

By newsgame

Pokemon fans will get their very own Animal Crossing-like next year with Pokemon Pokopia, but the confirmed physical version of the game has rubbed some the wrong way. Pokemon Pokopia is taking the beloved life sim formula and flipping it on its head, but Nintendo’s approach to physical releases in the Switch 2 area has been a major point of controversy, and this title has reignited discussion about the subject.

Pokemon Pokopia was first revealed earlier this year in September, and a release date has finally been revealed. Thankfully, the wait won’t be much longer, either. According to Nintendo, Pokemon Pokopia is set to release on March 5, 2026. As exciting as this release date reveal is, there is one major issue that has upset a lot of eager Pokemon fans who have been looking forward to the title: Game-Key Cards.

Pokemon Pokopia’s Physical Release Uses Nintendo’s Controversial Game-Key Card

The Switch 2’s Game-Key Cards have been controversial, because they don’t actually store game data.
Game-Key Cards are simply a download key, requiring the Switch 2 to still be online in order to download the game.
Game-Key Cards have raised concerns about the seemingly growing trend of gamers not actually being able to own the games they purchase.

While Nintendo’s online storefront for the US doesn’t mention the physical version, Nintendo’s Japanese website specifically labels Pokemon Pokopia‘s physical version as a Game-Key Card. One of the main reasons this has caused controversy is because, in the past, the company has assured fans that Nintendo-developed games will not use Game-Key Cards.

Playing with another player in Pokemon Pokopia

There is one catch to Nintendo’s past promise to make its first-party titles safe from Game-Key Cards, though. Nintendo is merely the publisher for Pokemon Pokopia, not the developer. Pokemon has been a mainstay on Nintendo consoles, but the franchise isn’t solely owned by the company. Pokemon Pokopia‘s developer, Koei Tecmo, also isn’t owned by Nintendo, making it exempt from the company’s promises.

Even though Pokemon Pokopia technically doesn’t fall under Nintendo’s first-party umbrella, the use of Game-Key Cards is still a major concern for a lot of fans, and for good reason. As video games become a more digital-focused experience, many gamers feel like actual ownership is slipping away. Pokemon Pokopia looks like a charming spin-off, but for collectors and those who enjoy owning the media they purchase, it would have been even more exciting if the game got an actual physical release that contained its data.