'Pokemon Sword And Shield' News: Expansion 'The Crown Tundra' Launch Date Revealed

KEY POINTS

"Pokemon Sword" and "Pokemon Shield" second expansion pass "The Crown Tundra" will arrive Oct. 22
It follows "Isle of Armor," which arrived in June
Developer Game Freak will release bundles with both expansions on Nov. 6

“Pokemon Sword” and “Pokemon Shield” are finally getting their long-awaited second expansion next month.

During a Nintendo Direct on Tuesday, developer Game Freak announced that the follow-up to “Isle of Armor,” namely “The Crown Tundra,” will be available on Oct. 22 for the Nintendo Switch.

“The Crown Tundra” is the second area that players will be able to visit with their Expansion Pass. As its name implies, it is a frigid, snowy area with jagged mountains and people who have come together in a small, tight-knit community reminiscent of Scotland.

Rumors of the DLC release arriving soon first surfaced earlier this month following the release of “Isle of Armor” in June.

Players are tasked by a man named Peony to lead the exploration team and investigate the land. This expansion also allows players to capture every Legendary Pokemon that has appeared in past games while being given the opportunity to team up with trainers they’ve met in the past.

Starting Tuesday, “Pokemon Sword” and “Pokemon Shield” players will also be able to snag special Pikachu with decorative hats with passwords. They can now get the first one with the password “P1KACHUGET.”

The Crown Tundra is a vast landscape, filled with glittering snow and jagged mountains, where people have built a tight-knit community. https://t.co/6hq7VH9r7M pic.twitter.com/BgmHDDYUW9
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) September 29, 2020

“Pokemon Sword” and “Pokemon Shield” launched in 2019 for the Nintendo Switch and is set in the Galar region that is based on the United Kingdom. These games introduced 81 new Pokemon together with 13 regional variants of pre-existing Pokemon.

The games also brought in Dynamaxing (which increases the size of Pokemon under certain conditions), Gigantamaxing (which additionally changes the form of certain Pokemon), as well as the Wild Area (a large, open-world area that contains co-op raid battles with free camera movement and dynamic weather).

Similar to what has been done before, the two games have version-exclusive content such as Pokemon that are only available in one or the other. For the first time, the same will apply for Gym Leaders in the respective games.

So popular has “Pokemon Sword” and “Pokemon Shield” become that by June, more than 18 million copies had sold worldwide, right on time for the arrival of the first expansion.

Game Freak plans to release bundles with both “Isle of Armor” and “The Crown Tundra” on Nov. 6.