@IceClimbers I could see at least 1 additional major title in March-July, but I'm not sure it's going to be much. Probably at least 2 or 3 of those major titles might be some kind of S2E or remake/remaster and they may even use some DLC packs as "major titles" too (we know that Pokopia Expansion Pass Part 3 is in 2027, we might see paid DLC for MKW in 2027). It's probably best not to expect too much in terms of "major titles", that's been decreasing as development times increase. If I had to guess which ones could show up, the rumored Wario Land revival might be a good candidate, we could see something 2D Zelda as part of the 40th anniversary, and (if you consider this "major") there's rumors about Nintendogs that seem plausible (EPD9 did just work on MKW but might have room for a smaller, more casual IP). I'm not sure if we get all 3 of these, but I suspect 1 or more of these could land in Spring. That could make for a decent lineup I think (certainly no worse than anything else we've had during the Switch 2 era).

@Bolt_Strike When Kirby released in March, there was a release date reveal in the 1st half of January:

• Kirby Star Allies - Release date announcement in January 11th Nintendo Direct Mini
• Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - Release date announcement in January 9th press release (same day as Yoshi's Crafted World getting a trailer with March release date)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Release date announcement in standalone January 12th trailer

So it seems a safe guess that if World Beyond releases in March then we get a release date announcement in the 1st half of January. As for general Direct, I think it comes down to what happens in late October. Nintendo has made plenty of standalone announcements in the lead up to their early November earnings report like New Horizons Switch 2 Edition, XCX Definitive Edition, Nintendo Music, the Zelda movie, etc.

If they announce a Spring game as a Nintendo Today drop in late October then that'll decrease the chance of a February general Direct.

@Grumblevolcano Even if they do all that, that's still only 2 games. They need at least 4 or 5 to avoid a General, we need to know what's happening in March, April, May, and even June if they want to wait until June for the next General. We have Xenoblade Genesis and WiWa as 2027, but we don't know if they're early or late in the year. If one or both of them are late, that's still woefully insufficient to last them to June. We'll most likely learn WiWa's release date on Pokemon Day (and rumors are pointing towards it being late, so that does increase the chances of a General), but they'll also need to tell us what's going on with Xenoblade Genesis to skip.

I don't quite see much appeal in knowing what's coming in 6 months. Things change, plans change, so on so forth, live in the today and all that. Never forget we knew Advance Wars was coming and then the intro from a 20 year old game predicted reality, and then it wasn't coming.

But if you want to really know what's happening in those months, I've got a scoop for you!

In February they're releasing something called Valentine's Day. Seems to be a smaller project but it might do well with couples in the general market.

March/April has this "Easter" project, might be big with kids.

June and July have "Heatwave" booked in. No idea what that's about.

And I even hear they're going to announce something every day.... something to do with the letter Y.

@Bolt_Strike I suggested a theoretical March - July lineup earlier in the thread that wouldn't require a February general Direct:

• March - Kirby and the World Beyond
• April - Blue ocean game announced in late October
• May - Duskbloods (FromSoftware's last new game released in May)
• June - A dormant IP revival announced via Nintendo Today around April
• July - Xenoblade Genesis

@Haruki_NLI The debate is over whether there will be a General Direct in Spring or if they'll skip it and have a Partner Showcase. The reason we're discussing what's coming in Spring is that how much we know about the lineup a Direct would typically cover is a factor in that decision. A hypothetical February General would usually cover that Spring period, so if we already have knowledge of the Spring lineup that would eliminate the need for a Spring General but if we get to around February and we still know very little about what's releasing when in Spring, that's probably a sign a Spring General is coming.

@Grumblevolcano Ehh maybe, but this seems a tad overly reliant on Nintendo Today announcements. I'm leaning more towards a Direct. We knew even less about the Spring lineup than we did about the Fall/Winter lineup in the leadup to September (we had dates for Fire Emblem and Switch Sports Resort and knew OoT was landing in late 2027, we just didn't know too much about early 2027). That may imply they have a lot to show in the Spring, more than what they can cover in Nintendo Today and enough to justify a General.

@Bolt_Strike I should probably clarify that by "major" title I mean a heavy hitter AAA title. Like say a Luigi's Mansion 4, for example. At most you'll get 1 title of that caliber, with the rest being B tier titles like the aforementioned Wario Land or Nintendogs and then S2Es and DLC.

Wouldn't surprise me if it's something like:

March - Kirby and the World Beyond
April - Nintendogs
May - Wario Land
June - Mario Kart World DLC
July - Xenoblade Genesis

Throw the Pokopia DLC in April or something lol

@Haruki_NLI as much as i'm also not a huge fan of predicting directs all the time... you are in the thread made specifically to do that, keep in mind. not really sure what your stake is here.

@Bolt_Strike They announced 4 games for the 1st half of 2026 outside of general Direct:

• AC New Horizons Switch 2 Edition - Announced in late October for January release
• XCXDE Switch 2 Edition - Shadow dropped in February
• Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green - Announced a week before launch in February
• Star Fox - Given its own Direct in early May to announce the game for June

That's why I think the key will be how Nintendo handles the lead up to their early November earnings report. If they decide to announce a Spring game, February general Direct is made less likely however if they choose to do something like announce what the April 2028 Illumination movie is then February general Direct becomes more likely.

A February Direct didnt happen this year because we knew most of Nintendo's 2026 1st party lineup by the end of 2025 (New Horizons NS2E, Mario Tennis Fever, Pokopia, SMB Wonder NS2E, Tomodachi Life, Yoshi Mysterious Book, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Splatoon Raiders, Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, Duskbloods). A February Direct was simply unnecessary and Nintendo waited to June/September before announcing their remaining 2026 1st party titles (Switch Sports Resort, Ocarina of Time remake, Xenoblade 1-3 NS2E, Pikmin 4 NS2E), most of which are late 2026 releases. Only Xenoblade X NS2E and Star Fox were announced outside of Directs, the former of which was shadowdropped.

For 2027, things are different as we only know of the Q1 2027 lineup (Metroid Ravenous, Age of Calamity DE, Kirby World Beyond if it releases in March), along with Xenoblade Genesis and Pokemon Winds/Waves. Unless both Genesis and Pokemon are spring/summer releases, Nintendo will need a February Direct to fill out their spring/summer release slate.

@Bolt_Strike Nintendo isnt going to fill entire chunks of their 2027 release shcedule with DLCs and Switch 2 Editions. They will definitely publish major new releases titles between Kirby and Xenoblade/Pokemon in 2027. Spring and summer are still relevant release periods for games.

@IceClimbers I'm not even sure we'll get 1 AAA heavy hitter announcement anytime soon. In fact, I suspect they view Kirby and the World Beyond as a title of that caliber (Forgotten Land also seems to have expanded Kirby's audience selling a record-breaking 7.57 million, might going open world expand it even further up to the 10 million range?) and may want to put a lot of focus on that game for the first half. This is doubly true if the next big heavy hitter is 3D Mario, because that's probably going to be a similar type of game and could cannibalize World Beyond. I suppose it's possible to tease a non-3D Mario heavy hitter like LM4 for the second half of the year (if LM4 is happening this year, it's almost certainly a "spooky season" October release), but it feels like a stretch. More likely I think there simply won't be one at all and any new games announced in a hypothetical February Direct would be the B tier and below stuff.

I've already mentioned I think it'll release in May mirroring Nightreign's release timing but when do the rest of you think Duskbloods is coming out?

In the end, the September - December Mario universe streak continues as Nintendo has just released Hello Luigi and Hello Peach.

That... barely counts; but you make a good point.