Pokémon Pokopia is getting paid DLC and it starts with an underwater town

The best exclusive on Nintendo Switch 2 is getting a whole lot of new content, with a free underwater update and three paid-for expansions for this year and next.

No one, including Nintendo, would’ve guessed that the most popular, and critically acclaimed Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive of its first year would be Pokémon Pokopia – a cross between Minecraft and Animal Crossing – but it absolutely deserves that accolade.

It’s one of the best games of the year, on any format, and to their credit Nintendo has been quick to respond to its popularity. There’s been a few minor in-game events already, but August will see the release of a new update that lets you swim underwater using the Dive move.

Also available in August will be the first of three slices of paid DLCs, called Bubbly Basin, which features a whole underwater town, new outfits, and new pokémon like Popplio and Corphish.

Although the reveal in the Nintendo Direct states that the Expansion Pass will be available from today that just means you’ll be able to buy it, as no actual content will be released until August.

The Expansion Pass costs £29.99 and Part 1 (Bubbly Basin) will be released in August, Part 2 in ‘late 2026’, and Part 3 at some point in 2027.

Part 2 is described as adding ‘additional new features’ and pointedly not a new town, but Part 3 will add an ‘additional new town’. We’re going to guess one set somewhere icy, as there’s very few ice pokémon in the game, but there’s a lot of biomes that aren’t well represented yet, so it’s not a sure thing.

As a reminder, Pokopia is set in a version of Kanto, from the original Pokémon Red and Blue, that has been ravaged by ecological disaster, causing the disappearance of all humans. It’s basically Fallout but with pokémon as you, as a Ditto, try to rebuild the world and reintroduce other wild pokémon.

Whichever town it is, that’s now underwater, it presumably got there as a result of flooding or a tectonic plate shift. Which is a pretty hardcore explanation for what’s going on, but then Splatoon also technically takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, so Nintendo clearly has no issue with the subject matter.

Apart from having to wear a bubble on your head, and the grow move creating moss instead of a bush, everything seems to work the same as usual underwater, which will be very useful for redecorating not just Bubbly Basin but any of the existing towns that adjoin the sea (i.e. all of them except Sparkling Skylands).

How much of all this was planned before the game became a massive hit is unclear but it’s all very welcome and there’s a good chance there’ll be other smaller additions and in-game events in the meantime.

Although you also already get a dynamic Ditto print recipe (and some free Pokémetal) if you buy the Expansion Pass and that will be available straight away, from today.

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