The first Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC, The Teal Mask, releases globally on Sept. 13. Actually, it may release a day earlier in some regions of the world, thanks to how Nintendo is expected to let players access this new content.
The Teal Mask launches “in the morning” of Sept. 13 in Japan, according to promotional images released online. Since the Pokémon Sword and Shield expansions rolled out at the same time globally in 2020, it’s reasonable to expect the same will happen with The Teal Mask, which means a late night release on Sept. 12 in the Americas and in the early morning of Sept. 13 in Europe.
Nintendo hasn’t confirmed the exact release times yet. Players online expect that “morning” means releasing at 11am Japan time at the latest, which would be 9pm CT on Sept. 12 in Americas and 3am BST in Europe. This is probably the latest time the DLC would release, but all times are subject to change.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask DLC expected release time countdown
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask DLC expected release date and time by city and country
| City, country | Release time and date |
| Los Angeles, United States British Columbia, Canada | 7pm PT, Sept. 12 |
| Salt Lake City, United States Alberta, Canada | 8pm MT, Sept. 12 |
| Austin, United States | 9pm CT, Sept. 12 |
| New York City, United States Ontario, Canada Quebec, Canada | 10pm ET, Sept. 12 |
| Sydney, Australia | 12pm AEST, Sept. 13 |
| Manila, Philippines | 10am PHST, Sept. 13 |
| Mexico City, Mexico | 8pm CST, Sept. 12 |
| Brasília, Brazil | 12am BRT, Sept. 13 |
| London, United Kingdom | 3am BST, Sept. 13 |
| Berlin, Germany Paris, France Madrid, Spain | 4am CEST, Sept. 13 |
| Johannesburg, South Africa | 5am SAST, Sept. 13 |
| Tokyo, Japan | 11am JST, Sept. 13 |
| New Delhi, India | 7:30am IST, Sept. 13 |
Why players expect a global release of The Teal Mask
Pokémon fans can hope for a global release of The Teal Mask because a staggered release could mean a conflict between game versions for online interactions, and Nintendo hasn’t announced any maintenance to the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet online services yet, which would be the only way to prevent that.
The only maintenance revealed so far is to the Pokémon HOME services, which will go down at 7pm CT on Sept. 12 and can take up to 24 hours to return to normal. This is another clue that the DLC may actually release on Sept. 12 for some regions, since leaving HOME open would also cause data conflicts in online interactions between players with and without The Teal Mask available in their region.
The final clue is that Pokémon Sword and Shield’s expansions, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, both released at the same time in all regions. Unless Nintendo and Game Freak are changing plans, this suggests the same will happen with The Teal Mask.
How to download The Teal Mask DLC when it releases
Leave auto-updates on for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on your Switch to get The Teal Mask update automatically applied on your game once it releases. If you never changed this setting, it should be on by default and you don’t have to do anything. Of course, you need to have purchased the DLC on the Nintendo eShop to get the new content.
If the game doesn’t update straight away, close it and try to open it again. If the DLC is live, you will be prompted to update the game before running it again. Accept the update and the new content should be available once you’re in the game.
