By Published May 6, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2026 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.
In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.
He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on , , and at Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
is coming to NIntendo Switch 2. The problem, however, is that no one is quite sure when it's going to arrive. The game was officially announced to be a part of Nintendo Switch Online's GameCube additions alongside Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. And while in March, everyone is still waiting to see when Pokémon Colosseum will show up on the Switch 2.
Over on , fans have already begun to speculate on a release date, as well as what Pokémon Colosseum's impending arrival could mean for GameCube titles on NSO and the Switch 2. As expected, reactions run the gamut from optimism about a 2026 release to outrage over having to wait this long. It's not helping that it's been over a full year since the Nintendo Direct in which Pokémon Colosseum was announced as a GameCube addition to Nintendo Switch Online.
"Hoping they’re somehow adding the extra Pokémon for all, or maybe Home compatibility?" wrote the original poster on Reddit. The reactions here are mostly "no way" and "unlikely," but quite a few folks are hopeful anyway. And that's really only the tip of the iceberg here, since fans are debating pretty much every aspect of Pokémon Colosseum's release on Switch 2.
More than a few people suggested Nintendo may be waiting to release Pokémon Colosseum as a standalone game, explaining that's why the wait has been so long. As a number of Reddit users mention, however, the game has already been announced for NSO, so a pivot to a standalone game that requires a separate purchase feels unlikely.
Understandably, fans are also a bit . April 2026 feels like a long time ago, and considering how many of the announced GameCube titles have come to NSO since the Switch 2 debuted, the wait for Pokémon Colosseum feels even worse. Getting its sequel on NSO first also just adds to the confusion.
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It seems like most people agree that Pokémon Colosseum will still arrive sometime in 2026. Considering the gap between Legends: Z-A's fall 2026 launch and Winds and Waves' expected fall 2027 release window, it's also entirely possible Nintendo is using Pokémon Colosseum to bridge that gap by dropping it on NSO in Fall 2026. Right now, no official Pokémon games have been announced for the interim, so this could be a way to keep fans happy without Game Freak having to release a completely new title.
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