Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@Bolt_Strike,

For that one, I'm guessing either March or May. It all depends on whether they want to use the Galaxy movie as a marketing tool for it or not.

Since Pokopia is coming out early March, I could see Wonder S2E coming out later that month, sometime around either the 19th or the 26th. And assuming they release Yoshi in the middle of April (around the 16th, perhaps) and then Tomodachi Life in early-ish May (perhaps the 7th or 14th), then Wonder S2E can release on the 21st (if the 7th) or the 28th (if the 14th), and then either way, both Wonder S2E and Yoshi will be at least one month apart either way. Not much of a gap, but that's the biggest gap I can create since they're both releasing in Spring.

Not related to my reply in any way, but about Rhythm Heaven... I personally think that the earliest we could see that one is June, since the release schedule from January - May is already pretty packed. And I believe I heard something about Nintendo's president saying that Switch 1 games would continue to come out until the end of 2026 (at the very least). So I could honestly see them potentially doing Tomodachi Life in the Spring, Rhythm Heaven in the Summer, and perhaps a Zelda HD remaster or Kirby HD remaster (or both) in the Fall / Winter 2026 area and call it a day. Or they could do more. This is speculation, after all.

@Grumblevolcano I don't think Raiders is going to be before Fire Emblem, the latter has a more defined release window (2026 vs. no release window at all) and has shown more of its gameplay. I wouldn't be surprised if Raiders slips to 2027 even, but I think if it's coming in 2026, it'll be later in the year.

@Nep-Nep-Freak There have been rumors floating around of Robobot HD. That was rumored for last year but they could've held it for this year or later, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just sitting on it and waiting for the best time in the schedule to launch it.

At the very least, it pretty much garantees there will be some type of Zelda game. Which isn't saying much since there is Zelda almost every year, but it's better than nothing.

I'm expecting port or remaster plus some merch.

I was also disappointed that they did so little for Mario 40. Galaxy II was appreciated and expected but it felt more like 'normal mario release' rather than part of an event.

@Bolt_Strike Nintendo's approach with Side Order was:

• Announced in February 2023 with no release window
• Reappeared in September 2023 with a Spring 2024 release window
• In January 2024 it got a February 2024 release date

So it's possible Splatoon Raiders could follow a similar pattern time adjusted to take into account the June 2025 reveal.

I feel like we'll get a game specific direct in January, either for Splatoon Raiders or Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. One of those two will probably be released in late April or early May. I anticipate Wonder NS2E to be released in late March, Tomodachi Life to be released in May, and Yoshi to be released in June. We have plenty of games already announced, so I'm not sure that we'll see a general direct until around June.

@Grumblevolcano The difference there is that Side Order was DLC and Raiders is a full game. Raiders might follow a schedule closer to Splatoon 3, which was revealed 19 months ahead of its final release.

I think we'll be waiting until February to get any news then it'll be pretty stacked. Between Mario Tennis Fever Overview Trailers, February Direct, pokemon presents, and mario movie news. It'll be kinda the start for the 2026 hype cycle. I'm guessing January will just have the marketing for Tennis and Pokopia and some light Animal Crossing stuff and be kinda boring otherwise

@Grumblevolcano i could see a random rhythm heaven trailer drop sometime in the next few weeks and it being given a March release date

@Bolt_Strike For all we know, Splatoon Raiders could be effectively a "Splatoon 3 DLC 3" that's standalone because Splatoon 3 getting a Switch 2 Edition would cause issues for the PvP side of things as a result of Switch 2 players having access to higher framerates and mouse controls. But whether it's a standalone DLC or a full price game, I think the fact that Splatoon 3 is still getting Splatfests and Big Runs is the biggest reason why Splatoon Raiders would be less likely to have a long gap between reveal and release.

On second thought, this idea solves the Smash dilemma. Have Smash Ultimate be the multiplayer Smash game for Switch 2 but not in the form of a Switch 2 Edition, instead a free update comparable to Splatoon 3 meanwhile the new Smash is a standalone Subspace Emissary style spinoff.

Fire Emblem is gonna be the big late Spring/early Summer game, for sure. The franchise has grown, but it's not big enough to be the Fall game yet. Splatoon Raiders is gonna come out earlier than that. It's gonna be right on the cusp between Q1/Q2, is my guess. And I agree with @Grumblevolcano - something about Raiders just strikes me as... not a super-huge game. I don't know. I LOVE Splatoon, but it does feel like a big DLC or maybe a smaller base single-player thing that they will continue to expand over time.

January - Animal Crossing S2, some big 3rd-party stuff like FF
February - Mario Tennis and other huge 3rd-party stuff like Resident Evil, DQ, etc.
March - Pokopia and MAYBE Splatoon Raiders

@UpsideDownRowlet
Mario Wonder S2 is technically listed as Q2 (according to Nintendolife), so you'd be looking at the April-June window. I do agree that it feels like it can come out sooner, though.

I think overall their bet is that Animal Crossing S2 is gonna sell insanely well (which it probably will) to keep people sated for the January/February slog.

Another thing to keep in mind for the timing of the Direct: My thought is they want to get it out there before the Winter Olympics start or at the least VERY early during the Olympics, especially if they have any Olympics game announcements. The opening ceremony is on February 6th, so I think we're gonna be getting a pretty early Direct - maybe even late January, a couple weeks after Animal Crossing is out.

@FishyS no doubt. I’m sure it’ll be something, but definitely not a big blowout.

@Grumblevolcano I've been of the opinion that S3's "Expansion Pass" was going to be much larger, but due to delays it was scaled down to just the new hubs and Side Order (which itself is much smaller than many expected). That would mean Raiders was likely going to be "Wave 3" before it got pushed off into being its own thing for Switch 2.

@rallydefault I think they're treating the 3rd party support as the big releases in the January - March window (e.g. FFVII Remake, RE9, MH Stories 3). If 3rd party support does well early on then 3rd parties have Nintendo's back whenever 1st party is in a quieter spot and Nintendo's already warned everyone that Switch 2 development is longer than Switch 1 development.

@Grumblevolcano
Yea, and I don’t blame them: the new Resident Evil alone is huge, but people like me are also stoked to finally get to play Final Fantasy and Elden Ring. Release date on Elden Ring will probably be in the next Direct.

https://www.nintendo.com/au/news-and-articles/games-coming-to...

Some updated (or maybe not updated) dates. Doesn't mention Splatoon raiders for some reason. I guess that's not verified 2026 yet.

Yoshi says quarter 2 in a different spot so probably not March even though it says Autumn/spring(in Northern hemisphere) here.

Nintendo today announced Pokémon anniversary special Feb 27th. Not a surprise but it is official now.

@RobLife1 The last time a Pokemon event was announced 2 months in advance, Nintendo skipped a general Direct for that season.

@Grumblevolcano Nintendo Today drops then a direct not until April could hurt momentum.

please stop with the idea that raiders is basically dlc wave 3, because now im gonna be worried it's gonna be a nothingburger game dear god why

@Grumblevolcano To be fair, it's just announcement of the 30th anniversary celebrations. No actual presentation or anything like that got announced. Not yet anyways.