Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is perhaps the largest departure for a mainline entry yet.

Taking cues from Arceus from earlier in the year, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a cross between a traditional, mainline entry and open world adventures, with three storylines that you can complete in any order you choose.

We said it was an "interesting reworking... brought low by its lifeless environments and graphics" in our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review, and you can play it as soon as your local Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release time will allow.

When does Scarlet and Violet release? Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release time in UK / GMT, CET, EST and PST explained

The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release date is Friday, 18th November, and based on previous first-party Switch games, will be available at midnight local time for those purchasing digitally on eShop.

The exception is for those in North America, where if you are on the West Coast, it will be available when it unlocks midnight East Coast time - in other words, at 9pm PST.

In summary, the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release times are as follows for your region:

This means for those in Europe, you have to wait until midnight to start playing. Our recommendation, however, is to get a good night's sleep first, so you can start playing fully refreshed in the morning.

It should be added the exception to the above is if you have a physical copy of the game, in which case, you can start playing as soon as you get your hands on it. This might explain the various leaks doing the rounds, which Nintendo is battling to contain. (Don't worry, we don't spoil anything in our coverage of these early copies.)

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet download size

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has a storage requirement of 7GB for those downloading digitally from the eShop.

It is, of course, possible to change as updates as introduced. Though nothing has been confirmed in terms of DLC, as with all games there will inevitably be some small patches and tweaks post-release, so if you are tight on space, best to have a bit of room to accommodate those for when they come in.