Pokemon Legends: Z-A may only require sales of 200,000 units to become profitable according to ex-Nintendo employees. This surprisingly low figure is linked to an alleged minimal budget for the game.

Released on October 16, 2025, Pokemon Legends: Z-A is the newest installment in Nintendo’s popular franchise, succeeding Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Early assessments show that Pokemon Legends: Z-A has received positive feedback, presently holding an average critic rating of 81 on OpenCritic.

Budget Breakdown and Sales Outlook

Former employees of Nintendo of America, Krysta Yang and Kit Ellis, discussed potential sales on their channel, sharing critical insights regarding Pokemon Legends: Z-A, noting its estimated budget of approximately 2 billion yen ($13 million). While these figures could be outdated and should be interpreted cautiously, Ellis suggested that for the game to achieve profitability, it would merely need to sell about 200,000 units, which he called “a remarkably low number.” Through this lens, they critiqued Nintendo for not providing a larger budget, noting that these titles are reliable revenue generators yet can sometimes fall short in areas like graphics quality.

It remains uncertain how well Pokemon Legends: Z-A will perform on its launch day. However, considering the success of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which sold around 27 million copies, it’s reasonable to anticipate that the latest title will surpass the 200,000 sales threshold easily. Notably, Scarlet and Violet faced backlash regarding their graphics and performance, leading to calls from fans for Nintendo and Game Freak to increase funding for polishing future entries.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Further details regarding Nintendo’s strategies around the Pokemon budget are anticipated, as additional insights into future generations of Pokémon games were also unveiled amidst the recent leak. The upcoming titles are said to be called Pokemon Wind and Wave, which are expected to draw inspiration from regions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.