Elden Ring
Image: Nintendo Life

There's a new Nintendo Direct coming very soon, and it's a Partner Showcase, which means it's time for third parties to shine.

Since launch, we've seen some big hitters from publishers like Capcom (Street Fighter 6), CD Projekt (Cyberpunk), and SEGA (Yakuza 0), but despite a very solid lineup at launch, you get the feeling that Nintendo has kept the floodgates closed to give early releases time to breathe.

However, with 25 minutes to fill, it looks like that's about to change. We're expecting big news, including release dates for previously announced games (hi there, FromSoft), but also a handful of surprises - or not-quite-surprises-but-exciting-all-the-sames. (And that one NIS itself apparently leaked.)

Let us know in the poll at the bottom what you expect to see pop up (and leave a comment with other suggestions/wild dreams). First, though, let's take a look at Team NL's third-party predictions for upcoming Direct...

Nine, Nine, NINE (Alana Hagues, deputy editor)

UFO 50
Image: Mossmouth

Me being who I am, my thoughts immediately darted to the handful of RPGs that haven’t got release dates yet – Elden Ring, Final Fantasy VII Remake – but I think this is the place to announce something new. Not just a Final Fantasy XVI port (which is probably coming; it’s on everything else).

Nope, I’m sticking my neck out, because it’s time to announce that darn Final Fantasy IX remake. Stop teasing me with new art and new merchandise; give me a reimagining of my favourite Final Fantasy game right now.

I think we’ll probably get a bit of indie coverage too; I’d love to see more of Witchbrook, perhaps a cheeky little UFO 50 surprise. And hey, Hades 2’s final release date? It just had what is supposed to be its final patch. A date can’t be far off now.

Once again, I refuse to say the game with the initials HK:S. I want it, badly, though. But I can’t be disappointed this way.

Ports and Puzzlers (Jim Norman, staff writer)

Persona 3 Reload
Image: Atlus

Okay, let me brush off my book of 'Switch Ports Plz' that I've been building for the past five years and see what jumps out, starting with some recent biggies that I think could be likely.

Metaphor: ReFantazio and Clair Obscur have the 'huge-following-meets-unexpected-smash-hit-release' factor in them that makes me think a speedy Switch 2 version could be on the cards. Let's throw Persona 3 Reload into there too — nothing unexpected about that one, but there's no way that it doesn't come our way eventually.

Call me crazy, but I'm still holding out hope for Marvel's Midnight Suns. Remember when that was definitely 100% coming to Switch before it just... quietly didn't? Marvel could do with a little goodwill at the moment, and this would be one hell of a way to do it. Slot it in before Cosmic Invasion and boom, you've got a Fall/Winter double bill.

The puzzler in me is still begging for The Witness — which seems less likely every year — but a Blue Prince port feels like a no-brainer after the stellar launch a few months back, and I'd happily turn a blind eye to that 60+ hour PS5 playtime to start again on Switch 2.

And you know I can't touch on puzzlers without mentioning my beloved Hershel. Professor Layton and The New World of Steam is due out this year and we still don't have as much as a release window. C'mon, Level-5, don't break me.

Vanquish Donkey Kong and bring me Snake Eater (PJ O'Reilly, staff writer)

Hades 2
Image: Supergiant Games

I'm very excited about this Direct. I wanna see a strong lineup of games stretching into Xmas now. Mario Kart World is old news. Donkey Kong Bananza? Ancient history. Give me a few big third-party heavy hitters, (most of which the team has already mentioned here, but I'll double down on wanting to see more Hades 2 details, alongside Clair Obscur, Elden Ring, and Blue Prince).

I'd love to see some oldies revamped. Give me Vanquish and Bloodborne, y'know, the S-Tier stuff. More likely, I reckon we could see Red Dead Redemption 2 show up, and the Resi remake games — some of which have appeared in cloud form — could perhaps see actual ports. Besides these, give me a Metaphor ReFantazio port with bonus Switch 2 exclusives.

I reckon we'll get everything I just typed out. So I might as well throw a port of Metal Gear Delta: Snake Eater in for good measure.

Microsoft announcing something other than layoffs and AI guff (Gavin Lane, editor)

Sea of Thieves
Image: Microsoft

Xbox Game Studios has been quiet about Switch 2 despite plans to expand its software catalogue to anything that'll play it. I've wanted Rare Replay on a Nintendo system for years, and it feels like a better fit now than ever. More likely we'll see the rumoured Sea of Thieves port, Call of Duty's promised Switch debut, and something else - a Forza Horizon potentially, or perhaps Indy shows up on Switch following his PS5 appearance. Some good news out of Microsoft, for once.

Beyond that, the team has covered the bases, loads of good stuff up there. But Alana mentioned my personal 'most wanted' - I've been jonesing for UFO 50 on Switch since it launched on PC, and I'd imagine Switch 2's extra grunt would help in the port department.

Aside from all the expected ports, a handful of exclusives would be lovely, too - or at least some new all-platform announcements. Nothing against Switch 2 ports (the more, the merrier), but after years of 'Yay, a fuzzier, portable version of a game everyone else played years ago,' some freshness wouldn't go amiss while Switch 2's still got that new system smell.

Wow, not a single Baldur's Gate 3 mention. Have we moved on? (Nah, we absolutely still want that, too.)

Let us know in the poll below which of these you'd most like to see, and take to the comments to shout out any wild cards you've got your heart set on.

What games do you expect/hope to see during the July Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase? (6,449 votes)

  1. Baldur's Gate 36%
  2. Bloodborne!2%
  3. Blue Prince2%
  4. Clair Obscur: Expedition 337%
  5. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition (Switch 2)5%
  6. Final Fantasy IX Remake4%
  7. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (Switch 2)4%
  8. Forza Horizon3%
  9. Hades II - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2)7%
  10. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle4%
  11. Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Switch 2)1%
  12. Marvel's Midnight Suns (Switch)  0.7%
  13. Metal Gear Delta: Snake Eater2%
  14. Metaphor: ReFantazio6%
  15. Persona 3 Reload4%
  16. Professor Layton and The New World of Steam (Switch 2)4%
  17. Rare Replay4%
  18. Red Dead Redemption 27%
  19. Resident Evil 2 Remake2%
  20. Resident Evil 3 Remake  0.7%
  21. Resident Evil 4 Remake3%
  22. Sea of Thieves2%
  23. Silkso--Don't say the name or you'll jinx it!5%
  24. The Witness  0.4%
  25. UFO 503%
  26. Vanquish  0.3%
  27. Witchbrook (Switch 2)1%
  28. Something totally new!7%
  29. Something else (comment below!)3%