Only a week after the last Nintendo Direct, one of the company’s most important partners aired a presentation of its own with some big announcements. The first Pokémon Direct of 2021 shared additional information about New Pokémon Snap, which arrives in April, as well as the reveal of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes and what very much looks like the first open-world Pokémon. Here’s everything we learned from the 2021 Pokémon Direct.

Pokémon Direct 2021 25th

The event opened with a video chronicling the full 25-year history of Pokémon, showing the many consoles the franchise appeared on and peripheries it sold. After thanking fans for joining them on the ride, Pokémon executives started showing off upcoming games for the series.

New Pokémon Snap

The Pokémon Direct showed off the most extended look at New Pokémon Snap to date, even though it was still relatively brief. The video showed off the different environments you’ll explore as a Pokémon photographer and some of the Pokémon you’ll encounter along the way. New Pokémon Snap is scheduled for release on April 30, 2021.

Pokémon remakes

Fans expected a new Pokémon game this year since the only release in 2020 was DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield. The Direct confirmed their suspicions with the announcement that remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the first entries released on the Nintendo DS, are coming later this year. The remakes, titled, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, release worldwide in Late 2021.

An open-world Pokémon?!

Fans have been clamoring for an open-world Pokémon title ever since video game hardware has been advanced enough to run open-world games. Though it wasn’t described as such, the newly announced Pokémon Legends Arceus seems very much in that mold. Like Diamond and Pearl, the game is set in the Sinnoh region, but years before the events of those titles when the land was far less tamed and home to more open-ended adventures. Pokémon Legends Arceus is set to release worldwide in Early 2022.

With the tease of a kind of Pokémon game fans have been demanding for over a decade, this showcase upended even the wildest expectations, not an easy task with an audience as demanding as Nintendo fans. The Beat will sure to update you about these new titles as Nintendo and the Pokémon Company share more.

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