Xenoblade Chronicles 3was set to release this September, and was poised to help lead the Switch into gaming’s stacked fall season. However, Nintendo has announced today that development is ahead of schedule, andXenoblade Chronicles 3will be coming out earlier than expected.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3was announced earlier this year during the February Nintendo Direct. In the initial trailer, gamers got to see the new world thatXenoblade Chronicles 3takes place in, and it seemed tofeature a couple of callbacks to the firstXenoblade Chronicles, as well asXenoblade Chronicles 2. A couple of characters seemed very familiar toXenoblade Chroniclesfans, which left some speculating on what the plot could be about.
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In a new trailer, Nintendo and Monolith Soft showcased some ofXenoblade Chronicles 3’s combat for the first time, as well as more of its story.Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s parties look like they’re going to be large, with seven party members at once shown at one point. Party members also look like they can fuse together to create some kind of mech suit in combat by sharing their souls with each other. At the end of the trailer, Nintendo posted a surprise release date of July 29th, 2022. This moves the game at least a month ahead of its previously stated release date of September 2022.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3was initially leaked last yearby one of the voice actors ofXenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. Ever since that leak, gamers were expecting an announcement on the series, especially sinceXenoblade Chronicleshas become one of Nintendo’s big RPG franchises.
Even before this trailer,Xenoblade Chroniclesfans were expecting some kind of news soon. A few days ago,key art forXenoblade Chronicles 3was leakedas well as bios for some of the new characters. The key art was quickly removed after it had been discovered, but fans had already gotten a hold of it and rumors were swirling around what it had revealed about the game. These rumors have now been confirmed after this trailer.
With a much earlier release date,Xenoblade Chroniclesfans have already made their pleasure well-known on social media. Games moving forward with their release dates don’t happen often in this industry, and it could be possible Nintendo has something even bigger planned for the holiday season.Xenoblade Chronicles 3will add to Nintendo’s already stacked summer, and Nintendo fans are sure to be happy with this unexpected announcement.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 29th, 2022.
