Xenoblade Chronicles 3 got a big bump to its release date today. In an announcement made via Nintendo of America’s official Twitter account, the company revealed that the latest entry in the Japanese role-playing game series is now hitting the Nintendo Switch on July 29. It was originally set to launch in September.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 originally was announced during Nintendo’s February Direct, where it was given that initial September 2022 release date. Nintendo didn’t cite a specific reason for this rather substantial launch date bump, and simply stated that fans will be able to play “sooner than expected.”
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the latest game in the somewhat confusing Xeno series. The franchise started on PlayStation 1 with Xenogears, jumped to PlayStation 2 with Xenosaga, and is now a Nintendo exclusive with Xenoblade 1, 2, and 3.
An accompanying trailer for the title shows off more about the story, characters, and the new strategic battle system. The battle system in particular seems like a step up from previous titles, allowing players to control up to seven party members during enemy encounters.
The case of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its “negative delay” is a rare case when it comes to gaming as of late. Nintendo recently pushed back the release date of its upcoming strategy role-playing game, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp to an undisclosed date due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The game originally was to release on December 3, 2021, but was pushed to April 8, 2022, and now is awaiting a hopefully final release date.
Players can return to the Xenoblade series with this fresh title earlier than expected on July 29 on Nintendo Switch.
