New Pokémon Winds & Waves Price Leak Is Another Punch In The Gut

There has been another leak about Pokémon Winds and Waves that suggests the Generation 10 games will, indeed, get a price hike, which will be a brutal punch in the gut for players. There has been some debate regarding the pricing for the next couple of games. In May, there was a leak about the Pokémon Winds and Waves pre-order prices, which had appeared costing €79.99 in a listing on Amazon Germany, which may translate to $79.99 USD – or, at least, that is what players are speculating.

There has been a new update on the matter. A post made by Centro Leaks on X highlights that a lot of underrated information about the franchise has leaked. The leak suggests that The Pokémon Company has been wanting to push for a price increase for Pokémon games beyond the $60 price range since Gen 8’s Sword and Shield, which were released in 2019. According to the post, this wasn’t possible at the time because the increased prices hadn’t been standardized in North America.

The confirmation that the company has wanted to increase prices for some time is daunting news, especially in light of what is currently happening in the industry. Players are speculating a price update for Pokémon Winds and Waves thanks to the latest Nintendo Direct event, which confirmed that pricier games are now standard for Nintendo Switch 2 games. The pre-orders for the physical edition of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave are priced at $80.

On the Nintendo Store, the game’s digital version costs $69.99 – essentially a $70 price tag. It’s been confirmed that Winds and Waves will be an exclusive release for Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, meaning it won’t be available for the past-generation hardware. This adds to the credibility that the company will, in fact, increase the prices for the upcoming Gen 10 Pokémon games, and that may be the standard moving forward. On top of all that, there is yet another reason to believe this will happen.

Outside of Nintendo, game prices are already confirmed to be increasing. The prices for GTA 6 have been officially confirmed by Rockstar, and the standard edition alone will run for $79.99 – effectively, a $80 price tag. This new price standard will inevitably move other companies to start increasing their price tags for AAA productions, too. If The Pokémon Company was waiting for a standardization for increased prices across the industry to make its move, it just got it.

Of course, for now, this is all unconfirmed, as the company has yet to open the pre-order period for the games, revealing their price tag. It may take a while longer, as the Gen 10 games are slated to arrive in 2027. Even so, it’d be best for players waiting for Pokémon Winds and Waves to start saving money, because everything points to these being more expensive than usual.

Released

2027

Developer(s)

Game Freak

Publisher(s)

The Pokemon Company, Nintendo

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

Number of Players

Single-player