Xenoblade Chronicles 3 release date postponed from September to July

Nintendo has moved up the release date of Xenoblade Chronicle 3 by two months.

When Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced earlier this year, Nintendo said it would launch the Switch around September of this year. However, in a new three-minute trailer released by Nintendo today, the company revealed that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will now release on July 29th. The date is probably unknown, depending on when Nintendo planned to release the game in September.

The trailer’s description reads, “Why are Noah and his friends being chased by ‘monsters’ by the armies of their two countries?” “In the epic sequel to the Xenoblade Chronicles series, witness the introduction of the powerful Ouroboros form, a super-large being that can party during combat. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 arrives July 29th.”

Nintendo also shared some new details about what they saw in the trailer.

“The new trailer for the game sets the stage for the group’s journey in Aionios, the vast and sublime natural world, and reveals new details about the combat system.

• BATTLE WITH UP TO 7 CHARACTERS: As in previous Xenoblade Chronicles games, the battle begins in the Overworld face to face with your enemies. Players can control Noah’s party of six and additional characters they will encounter during the adventure. Each character has a unique role to play in combat, allowing for a variety of strategies.

• Class Change: Noah is a gladiator who specializes in melee attacks, and Mio is a Zephyr who grabs enemy attention while dodging attacks. So each character has its own class with its own strengths. As the adventure progresses, players can change the character’s class to create a custom party.

• New interlocking system: Each tag team pair (Noah and Mio, Lanz and Sena, Uni and Tyon) can use the interlocking system when certain conditions are met. Then they are combined into a giant form called Ouroboros. Each Ouroboros has a powerful skill set, and deciding when to transform can be the key to winning the battle.”

Nitnendo says a special edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will also be available through the My Nintendo Store. Includes package artwork by Masatsugu Saito, over 250 pages of full-color hardcover artbook, and a steel case. It’s currently not available for pre-order yet, but Nintendo says new details about this special edition will be available in the future.