Pokemon Sword and Shield’s The Crown Tundra expansion arrives this October

Nintendo and Game Freak have announced that the second major expansion for Pokemon Sword and Shield will be arriving this October exclusively for Nintendo Switch. 

Known as The Crown Tundra, this expansion will be launching on October 23 and will feature a new location to explore alongside new characters, Pokemon and gameplay features which will expand upon the existing Sword and Shield formula. 

It will also include every single Legendary Pokemon that has ever appeared in the mainline series, addressing a major complaint made by players at the game’s supposedly lacking Pokedex. Fingers crossed there will be some way to catch all of them and add them to your collection. 

A brief online presentation took place earlier today which went into greater detail surrounding The Crown Tundra, including what environments, characters and story elements we can expect once it arrives later next month: 

You will be able to purchase the new downloadable content on its lonesome or as part of the expansion pass, which will also bag you the previous add-on – Isle of Armor. Earning 3/5 in our review, Sword and Shield’s debut expansion underwhelmed despite some creative additions to the open-world setting. 

“Isle of Armor is an enjoyable expansion to Pokemon Sword and Shield and brings the franchise one step closer to embracing a cohesive open-world, but it isn’t enough to detract from an experience that is far too brief for its own good.” We’re hoping The Crown Tundra is a solid improvement in a number of ways, offering a more substantial experience that doesn’t rely on boring exploration to pad out its runtime.

In terms of new content, players can expect Dynamax Raids and the Galarian Star Tournament. This 2v2 competition will have you competing against a number of familar trainers alongside some new faces. The expansion will also have its own core narrative thread which you can follow through to its conclusion.