So without further ado, let's live right in with a look at first-party Nintendo games...
Switch 2 First-Party Games
Ollie: I think it's about time we see Luigi's Mansion 4
Then again, if Luigi's gets the spotlight, does that mean we go another year without a new 3D Mario? I'm not sure how I'd feel about that. I'm confident that Nintendo will reveal at least one of these in the coming months. I'd be equally thrilled with either, to be honest.
Alana: Gosh, despite a new console launching just six months ago, my expectations are relatively low. It'll be busy for third parties, but I think Nintendo will be skipping over its big anniversaries this year (Metroid, Zelda) with little more than a trailer or a remaster.
I do think we might see something Xenoblade Chronicles related in 2026, whether that's a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of 2 , 3 , or heck, even that patch for X ! And a teaser for a new game would be lovely, too. Pokémon Gen X may be on the cards, but with its usual release window hogged by GTA VI ... I mean, the kids can play the 'mon while the parents have a new Rockstar game to get through
Jim : Okay, let's get this one out right from the jump: we're not getting a Zelda in 2026, 40th anniversary be damned! Hmm, perhaps more accurately, I don't think we're getting a new Zelda in 2026. The next big 2D or 3D joint feels a couple of years away, minimum , so it's remake season, baby! I've given up holding out for that fabled Wind Waker / Twilight Princess HD port, so let's go for the Oracle games instead. Just don't touch my beloved Minish Cap.
Otherwise: Mario Kart World DLC, a new Pikmin , and 'Nintendo Switch Sports 2'.
PJ: I'm gonna go ahead and suggest we could (or should) be looking at some new Splatoon action in 2026. And I mean the full smorgasboard of paint-flinging multiplayer mayhem, not just Splatoon Raiders' solo spin-off. It's been long enough since the superb third entry, and I'd love to see what the new graphical and CPU grunt of S2 could add to the equation.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see something from the vaults, like a new Kid Icarus (one that people universally enjoy controlling) - yeah, that would have me foaming at the mouth, not gonna lie, but there's also plenty of scope for dream level stuff, too. Like a super-charged and graphically glorious return to F-Zero , now that Nintendo can go big on the graphics and maybe even deliver slick online options. [Ha! - Ed.]
Gavin: I imagine we'll see whatever the Playtest turns out to be, but I'm hoping for that new 3D Mario to properly get the pulse racing. And for Zelda's 40th, it's the one we've all been waiting for:, the most ludicrous of NS2 Ed. titles, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Tingle's Toetown Hoedown .
Followed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Fighters Pass Vol 3+4 + Subspace Warpdash for the holidays. Yes, expanding titulature is a pillar of the Switch 2 generation.
Switch 2 Third-Party Games
PJ: I'm sure Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is on everyone's card here, as it should be, and I would also love to see Blue Prince make the jump. Otherwise, I'm gonna go ahead and predict that we'll see Baldur's Gate 3 arrive in a solid port that gets grief for being 30fps in handheld. I'd also suggest third-party racing games and sports games will make a much bigger impact now that a Switch console is capable of running them, so I wouldn't be surprised to see something like Forza (the next one is set in Japan).
Heck, maybe we might even have a sniff of something like Star Wars: Galactic Racer , Wreckfest 2 (or a bundle of some sort), or even the next entry in the F1 series. Much to think about.
Jim: I want ports-galore! Clair Obscur feels like the most open of open goals right now, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some smaller 2025 hits like Blue Prince and PEAK make the jump — the latter with Mouse Mode climbing and GameChat? Oof . Let's throw Metaphor: ReFantazio in there, too.
Alana: Starting off safe, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will release around six months after Remake , and we'll also see the third part of the trilogy. Maybe not day one Switch 2, but we'll see. Sticking with Square Enix, 2026 marks Dragon Quest's 40th anniversary. Can we really go another year without seeing Dragon Quest XII ? I'm not sure, but I think this is the year to reintroduce it to the world.
Going a little leftfield, I really want to see Denshattack! on Switch 2, and when Fields of Mistria need a port asap. And with the Yakuza train just continuing to roll, can we please have Like a Dragon ? I think it'll happen.
Gavin: I love a good port as much as the next sailor, but I'd really like something I haven't already seen at a higher resolution and frame rate elsewhere. But that isn't very useful for a predictions piece, is it?...
Oh, let's say Immortality and Rez . That's the stuff. And Super Hexagon at 4K, and with Switch 2's snazzy handheld audio, pulsing, pulsing..., yeah, that's it. C-mon, Tel, don't make me beg. Again.
Ollie: 007 First Light and Resident Evil Requiem represent a clear indication that the Switch 2 is a viable console for so-called 'AAA' third-party games, so as much as I want to see a few ports (yes, Baldur's Gate 3), I'm keen to see completely new games. Neither Persona 4 Revival nor Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement are confirmed for Switch 2 yet, but I'd be very surprised if they skipped Nintendo's console altogether.
Similarly, Capcom seems to be all-in with Nintendo, so it's possible that Onimusha: Way of the Sword also gets a surprise confirmation at some point. Speaking of Capcom, the new Okami won't make 2026, but we'll see the first proper trailer and it'll be confirmed for Switch 2.
Switch Online Additions
Alana: I've been very happy with the GameCube additions to Switch Online so far — a mix of big hitters a weirdo releases. But the biggest one, Super Smash Bros. Melee , is weirdly absent. It has to happen in 2025, surely? With online functionality, 25 years after its release? What a way to push the Expansion Pack. Otherwise, I'll continue to beg for Pokémon games as long as my life depends on it.
Gavin: I can see Zelda: Four Swords Adventure coming to a Switch 2 near you, and Mouse Mode feels like a great fit for DS games.
PJ: I've got a fancy new GameCube controller for my fancy almost-new Switch 2, and I'd bloody well like to use it, Nintendo. Specifically, I think we'd all have a great time if Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean showed up for NSO. Failing that, I'll take Billy Hatcher.
Ollie: Honestly, I'd be happy to just see more GameCube titles in 2026. Not just first-party games; let's get a few surprises in there. I'm thinking a Silicon Knights double-whammy with Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes , but I think it's also notable that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle has yet to see a release on the Switch or Switch 2. Viewtiful Joe would be delightful, too.
Jim: There's a part of me that's convinced Nintendo is working on a second-screen peripheral for that top USB-C port so we can get DS, 3DS and Wii U libraries on Switch 2. It feels like a long shot for 2026 — especially since the Virtual Boy is right around the corner — so I'll throw out my yearly wish for the Rogue Squadron games on N64 and GameCube, too.
What about Switch 1?
Ollie: The original Switch will get a couple of new announcements beyond Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Rhythm Heaven Groove . I'll keep bringing up Metroid Prime 2 and 3 until it actually happens, and I think Nintendo would put them on Switch 1, too.
PJ: I agree with Ollie here, in that Metroid Prime 2 and 3 could work out really well on S1, and what a send-off that would be, especially if they could pad it out with a few new drops. I'll go ahead and suggest a new Pikmin could hit both Switches, alongside any new Mario.
Alana: There's still life in the Switch 1, what with over 150 million units out there, and I think we'll continue to get games on the console over the next year. Largely, it'll be in the form of updates and patches that cater to both consoles, but we'll see.
Most importantly, I think we'll see more uses of GameShare from Nintendo. They may go back and add that functionality to a couple of games that are missing it, so families that have both consoles can play together. I think that'd be lovely!
Jim: Honestly? The upcoming titles that we already know about might be the last of the new S1 releases. Tomodachi Life and Rhythm Heaven feel like a particularly cosy note to end on, and I can't see any mega-busters heading to the old hardware now that Switch 2's in full swing.
Gavin: The new Rhythm Heaven is legitimately the most exciting thing Nintendo has announced so far for 2026. Is there any point in releasing anything else first-party when you've got GOTY 2026 wrapped and bagged?
I would predict that I'll be picking up a bargain-priced Switch Lite for my collection when stores start selling off inventory cheap. But it seems that prices have skipped the end-of-gen dive and just keep going up. Therefore, the pile of unused hardware in the Billy bookcase won't be getting bigger anytime soon. Probably for the best.
Non-Gaming Nintendo News
Jim: The Mario Galaxy movie will follow in its predecessor's steps and cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office, Nintendo Pictures has at least one more Pikmin short up its sleeve, and we'll get confirmation of a Donkey Kong TV series. We'll also see at least three new Nintendo mobile apps with near-identical red and white logos.
Alana: A Zelda movie trailer is a given, right? As we've mentioned above, it's the 40th anniversary. That would be a big enough deal for Nintendo, and it's what the company did for Mario's big bash.
One thing I think is weird, given Ninty's big expansion into multimedia, is that we have no big TV show yet. So I think we're going to get one next year. Kirby? Animal Crossing? A Kid Icarus show? I don't know. But have your remotes ready.
Ollie: At this point, I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo announces another theme park, or maybe a smattering of new retail stores. The company appears to be really ramping up its visibility to the point of becoming the new Disney, and I'm all for it.
We'll also get New Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo XL .
PJ: I really didn't like the recent Mario movie, but I accept that it's probably not really aimed squarely at me. So, yeah, I guess that's gonna be the big obvious thing next year for Nintendo, another Jack Black video game movie (groan).
Gavin: Animal Crossing expansion for one of the theme parks, and an increase in quality merch like the stuff currently hitting My Nintendo Stores. I do like the look of those Metroid ice trays .
Wild Cards!
Gavin: Pokémon Mini comes to NSO.
PJ: As images and scientific data related to the interstellar object 3i/Atlas are studied in early 2026, it's discovered that the anomaly, only the third of its kind ever to pass through our galactic neighbourhood, is actually Starship Mario. It's all real.
Alana: So, let's go back to my slight Metroid 40th anniversary dismissal and propose a remake — Super Metroid . I don't know if I want it, but by goodness, what a way to get people scrambling for joy. And shock. And maybe disappointment?
Jim: Star Fox . Yeah, I said it. The dream is a 64 remake, natch, but if Nintendo wants to grace us with an all-new entry on a system where people will actually play it, you'll hear no complaints from me. 2026 is the year, I'm telling you!
Ollie: It'll be Zelda 's 40th Anniversary in 2026, so Nintendo might surprise us with something special. How about a remake of the original NES game ? Nothing groundbreaking, but maybe something akin to Metroid: Zero Mission on the GBA. Keep it top-down with pixel art visuals, streamline it appropriately, and I'd buy it in an instant.
So that's what we think we might see, but what about you? What's on your 2026 bingo card? Let us know your biggest gaming predictions for the upcoming year with a comment down below.
