No one was surprised to see Pokémon Legends: Z-A show up in the September 12 Nintendo Direct. After all, the game is scheduled to release in under a month, so the company wants to get fans excited about it as the release nears. The surprise was that the game would be accompanied by its first DLC immediately at launch.
The Nintendo Direct revealed Mega Dimensions to be the upcoming game’s first DLC, featuring Mega Raichu X and Y, and Hoopla. Fans have known that Mega Evolutions would play a big role in the upcoming Legends title, so it makes sense for Pokémon to reveal more of them as the game’s release draws closer.
Unfortunately, the DLC has already made one huge mistake: It was announced way too early.
Pokémon Legends Z-A Isn’t Even Out Yet
It’s Way Too Early To Announce A DLC
According to the Pokémon website, “preorders for Mega Dimension are available now, with the DLC’s additional story content scheduled to release soon after the DLC goes on sale October 16, 2025.” In other words, you can pre-order add-on content for a game that isn’t even out yet.
Pokémon DLC isn’t new: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet had one paid expansion pack, after all. But The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC wasn’t out until September 13, 2023—a full year after the base games were released.
It feels way too early to announce a DLC for the unreleased game, especially since this isn’t one of the mainline titles. Fans know what they’re getting with one of the main Pokémon games, but the Legends titles are more experimental endeavors for Nintendo and Game Freak.
The upcoming game will include many changes and unique features compared to the mainline games, so it would have made much more sense for Nintendo to wait for fans to try it out before offering additional content.
Game Freak Leans Even Harder Into Megas For The DLC
Pikachu Is A Safe Selling Point
Nintendo has been leaning hard into the Mega Evolutions for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, even if not all its designs have been hits with the community (like the controversial Mega Dragonite design). The game dips even further into new Mega evolution designs with Mega Dimensions, which focuses on the new Raichu Mega Evolutions.
As Raichu is the evolution of Pikachu, one of the most well-known and beloved Pokémon in the franchise, Nintendo has certainly chosen a safe selling point for its first Z-A DLC. Hopefully, the game won’t lock too many Mega forms behind paid DLC.
The early reveal and sale of the expansion content imply that the upcoming game will have multiple DLCs, which could draw the ire of fans who might feel that content was artificially kept from them.
The fact that the Mega Dimensions DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A is available to preorder before the game is even out could mean that Nintendo doesn’t have enough faith in its game and is worried fans won’t want to buy add-on content after they try it. Or, it might just mean the company is confident that it has a game fans will love. As someone who absolutely loved Pokémon Legends: Arceus, I sincerely hope it’s the latter.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Released
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October 16, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
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Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Engine
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Proprietary
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Prequel(s)
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Pokémon X, Pokémon Y
- Franchise
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Pokemon
- Number of Players
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1-4 players (online)
