Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Switch Ports Get Release Date Update

Published Oct 21, 2026, 5:37 AM EDT

Known as 'Cyberpunk 2077's' biggest fan, Angharad is a Welsh games writer who thrives in anything related to digital storytelling. If a video game explores the intricacies and horrors of womanhood, she is there.

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First launching for the Game Boy Advance back in 2002 and marking the first installment in the third generation of Pokémon games, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire saw players, once again, go up against the Elite Four and the Pokémon League Champion, all whilst dealing with the ongoing threat of a criminal organization.

Welcoming 135 brand-new Pokémon to the roster, as well as double battles, new abilities, contests, and more, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire received mostly positive reviews, but as is the case with many entries in the Nintendo franchise, it received criticism over its lack of ambition.

However, over the years, nostalgia has taken hold and now, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire is remembered fondly amongst the Pokémon classics and, as such, fans are over the moon to hear that the games are set to receive a Nintendo Switch port.

Unlike a lot of the Pokémon classics, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire is not available to play on the Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 at the time of writing. However, this is set to change, if reports are to be believed.

Although the ports may not have been confirmed by Game Freak or Nintendo, many leaks have been released over the past few months. The most important of which was a 30-second clip of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire in HD shared to a Japanese Pokémon social media account. Not only did this footage look to feature a modern-day remake, but the clip being exactly 30 seconds, which is the amount of time you can record a Nintendo Switch clip for, made fans put two and two together.

Additionally, files referencing Gen 3 of Pokémon were found inside emulator data for Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which could hint at its future arrival.

Now, there is another update, and this time it comes courtesy of Shpeshal Nick on Twitter/X. After reaching out to a "source" back in August, they shared that "the ports of Pokémon Ruby/Emerald/Sapphire are planned for late September/October." However, in a more recent update posted on 20 October, they claim that this timeline has changed.

"Reached out to my source and asked for an update here (because everyone keeps asking me) and it seems this plan has changed," the post reads. "The ports apparently won’t make it by the end of this month. Will try and keep you posted when I get an updated timeline. Sorry to let people down."

Game Freak

It is obviously taking all of this information with a pinch of salt in the first place, but even then, Shpeshal Nick has not yet provided information as to when the release date for the ports of Pokémon Ruby/Emerald/Sapphire will now launch, after many fans believed that they would be released in Fall 2026. When asked if their source had given any indication of the revised time frame, they replied, "Nope, unfortunately."

So, it seems as though we are back to waiting for the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch ports for Pokémon Ruby/Emerald/Sapphire, but with neither Nintendo nor Game Freak confirming their existence at the time of writing, it is always worth it to err on the side of caution with your expectations.