Pokémon Sword and Shield became the first main-series Pokémon games with downloadable content in 2020.
The Nintendo Switch games launched in 2019 as the eighth generation of the main series. Their downloadable expansion pass was released in two parts: The Isle of Armor arrived in June 2020, followed by The Crown Tundra in October 2020.
Before Sword and Shield, Pokémon traditionally followed a pattern of releasing a separate enhanced version, such as Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, or Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The expansion pass changed that model by adding substantial new areas, characters, story content, and Pokémon to the existing games.
Sword and Shield are set in Galar, a region inspired by the United Kingdom. They also introduced Dynamax and Gigantamax battles, in which Pokémon become enormous for limited periods. The games’ downloadable content should not be confused with ordinary patches or updates: the expansion pass was paid additional game content sold separately.