During today’s Pokémon Presents stream, Nintendo announced that Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness will be joining its NSO service in March 2026. Released on the GameCube back in 2005, Pokémon XD was originally mentioned to be coming to the service when Nintendo unveiled that GameCube titles would be coming to the Switch 2. It’s been almost a year since then, and we’re on the cusp of receiving the game finally.
Released all the way back in 2005, Pokémon XD has become something of a fan-favorite in the 21 years since. At the time, the game was criticized for using recycled content from Pokémon Colosseum, the other GameCube exclusive entry in the series. Fans, however, liked that Nintendo took those high quality assets and applied them to a game that was more in line with the mainline series, including traditional RPG mechanics and story progression. I’ve never played it, personally, so I can’t say either way.
What is curious is that no specific release date was given, but then Nintendo loves to randomly add games to its NSO apps. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pokémon XD releases next Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, or thereabouts.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
