Nintendo Has Very Bad News for Pokemon Winds and Waves Fans

Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ 2027 release was announced this year on Pokemon Day, but now Nintendo has basically confirmed a late launch. Fans expected Pokemon Winds and Waves to launch at the end of 2026, as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the series, but Gen 10’s announcement trailer confirmed a 2027 release with no specific window or date attached. 2026 has been stacked with Pokemon releases so far, between Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen ports, Pokopia, and Pokemon Champions all happening one after the other.

Still, 2027 marks the fifth year of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and many fans were hoping to get their hands on the next installment of the series sooner than that. Not only that, but last month, a renowned leaker also came out to say that Pokemon Winds and Waves would launch in late 2027, as opposed to the first or second quarter. This remained a rumor so far, but yesterday’s June Nintendo Direct confirmed Gen 10’s release window for late next year.

Say Goodbye to Pokemon Winds and Waves Until Late 2027

Pokemon Winds and Waves didn’t get a second trailer during the June 9 Nintendo Direct, and if the games were planned for early next year, Gen 10 should have been there. Normally, Pokemon games launching soon appear in the Summer Nintendo Direct of the year they release or the previous year. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s second trailer came in June 2022, and the games launched in November of that year. Pokemon Sword and Shield did the same in 2019, and both games were part of a Nintendo Direct.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus had its second trailer in August 2021 and was released in January 2022, so one could argue that the same can still happen for Gen 10. However, between the leak of a late 2027 release from a reliable source and the fact that the first Gen 10 trailer was well over three minutes, as opposed to past first trailers under a minute, all of this seems to confirm that the second trailer for Pokemon Winds and Waves will come out next year. Likewise, the odds of Gen 10 launching early in 2027 are very slim, especially with Pokemon Pokopia‘s DLC coming out in three parts, including early 2027. For Gen 10 not to show up yesterday, the leaks are basically confirmed.

And it’s not just that, because Pokemon Winds and Waves‘ no-show at the June 9 Direct also means that fans will have to wait an exceptionally long time before the second trailer goes live, and that is seemingly no sooner than Pokemon Day 2027, on February 27. Mainline Pokemon games typically release towards the end of the year, usually in November, so it’s very likely now that Gen 10 will be released in the holiday season of 2027, or October at the earliest. The Nintendo Direct showed a first look at The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s remake, The Duskbloods, Donkey Kong Bananza‘s DLC, and more.

While Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald are coming as ports on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, according to dataminers, it’s unclear when this will happen. Based on the current Pokemon schedule, it’s likely that these ports will be released between the end of 2026 and the start of 2027 to keep fans busy while they wait for the next big installment of the series — even if it means waiting almost a year and a half from now for Gen 10.