Pokémon announces Diamond and Pearl remakes and a new Breath of the Wild-style open world game

One fan described the newly announced game as ‘a dream come true’

Pokémon has announced a new open world game entitled Pokémon Legends Arceus, as well as remakes of the hit RPG games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

The announcements came ahead of the franchise’s 25th anniversary on Saturday (27 February).

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are set to arrive on the Nintendo Switch console towards the end of 2021, while Arceus will debut in early 2022.

Arceus’s art style has prompted widespread comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with many social media users dubbing the game “Pokémon of the Wild”.

Diamond and Pearl were originally released on Nintendo’s handheld DS console in 2006. The trailer suggests that the new games will faithfully recreate the original games, while updating the graphics and adding additional features.

Fans reacted enthusiastically to the announcements, expressing their joy on Twitter.

“Honestly trying to not get TOO hyped about the @Pokemon Sinnoh pre-makes... but oh... I am HYPED,” wrote one person.

“Diamond and Pearl remakes are definitely exciting,” wrote another. “I’m not super sure about the art style though... Pokémon Legends however, holy S*** that looks incredible.”

“It’s exactly how I hoped they would make a more modern Pokémon game, but I didn’t think they actually would. VERY hype.”

“Pokémon Arceus my dreams have come true,” wrote another fan.

Pokémon is celebrating its anniversary with a year of themed events, including a concert on Saturday headlined by Post Malone.