Skip to main content

Free New Pokémon Snap DLC adds three new courses and 20 Pokémon

New Pokémon Snap is getting its first batch of DLC since the game launched in April. The free update adds three new courses to the game, as well as 20 Pokémon.

A free content update is coming to New Pokémon Snap!

Released on April 30, New Pokémon Snap was a nostalgic hit with fans and critics alike. The game is a long-awaited sequel to the Nintendo 64 cult classic Pokémon Snap, both of which revolve around taking photos of Pokémon. Nintendo hadn’t indicated whether or not New Pokémon Snap would get additional content, making today’s announcement a surprise for fans.

Gyrados leaps into the sky in New Pokemon Snap.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The free update is coming to Switch on August 4. It’ll add three courses and each one will have a day and night variant. A new area in the Florio Island Nature Path, called Secret Side Path, shrinks players down so they can take pictures of giant Pokémon. Mightywind River sends players riding down a river to snap pictures of water Pokémon. Barren Wilderness is a new canyon-like area on Voluca Island filled with poisonous and rocky creatures.

A trailer for the update gives a look at some of the new monsters fans can snap photos of. Pokémon like Tropius, Psyduck, and Swalot appear on the new courses, and fan-favorite Snorlax makes an appearance at the end.

New Pokémon Snap was a hit for Nintendo when it first launched. It was the third bestselling game in April 2021 with its sales doubling its Nintendo 64 predecessor’s debut month. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed if the game will receive even more DLC down the road.

New Pokémon Snap‘s free DLC will be available on August 4 for those who own the game on Nintendo Switch.

Giovanni Colantonio
As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…
Pokémon Stadium 2 and Trading Card Game are now on Switch with online play
Ash holds a Pokeball while a lot of iconic Pokemon stand behind him.

Nintendo Switch Online just added two retro classics, as Pokémon Stadium 2 and Pokémon Trading Card Game are now available on the service. Both games have been updated to feature online multiplayer.

Both announcements come from today's Pokémon Presents stream, which primarily focused on updates to mobile games and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Nintendo Switch Online got a small block during the presentation, when it was revealed that the two games were dropping on Switch shortly after the stream.

Read more
8 classic courses we want to see in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s final DLC wave
Mario, Link, Isabelle, and a Squid Kid race down the track in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch.

Mario Kart 8’s decade-long life cycle is finally coming to an end. On June 12, Nintendo will drop the penultimate wave of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass DLC, adding another handful of retro courses to the already-loaded racing game. It’ll follow that up with one final update later this year, capping off a long post-launch cycle for one of the finest multiplayer games ever made.

While we wait to hear what Wave 6 will bring, Mario Kart fans are left with one final debate: Which classic tracks deserve the final few spots? There are only eight more courses coming, but there are still plenty of great tracks from the franchise’s long history that are worthy of a modern remake. From a SNES classic to one of the best iterations of Rainbow Road, we put together our own wish list of courses we’d like to see make the cut before Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s grand finale later this year.
Ghost Valley (Super Mario Kart)
Super Mario Kart - Ghost Valley 1

Read more
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: shiny hunting guide
Shiny Azumarill.

It's already a major task to catch all the Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or any of the games for that matter, but GameFreak introduced another factor completionists will need to account for starting in Generation 2, that being shiny Pokémon. These are very rare forms of Pokémon that feature alternate colors of their regular, non-shiny forms. They never have any numerical or mechanical differences from their regular versions and are only differentiated based on their color and rarity.

Shiny hunting has been around since shiny Pokémon were introduced, but the methods and odds of encountering them always change from game to game. They are still present in Scarlet and Violet, but the open-world format has made hunting them slightly different. If you want to know how to get the best odds of finding these rare Pokémon, here's everything you need to know about shiny hunting.
Shiny hunting basics

Read more