Well, a new contender for our most-anticipated game of 2026 just appeared. Nintendo has spilled the beans on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, with a 22-minute Direct positively packed with info on the slice-of-life sequel.
The most important detail — so important that we'll stick it up the top here — is that Living the Dream will arrive on Switch 1 on 16th April 2026. That gives you just two and a half months to brush up on everything the game has in store, so let's get to it!
Below, we have broken down every announcement from the Direct in chronological order. We've also included a poll at the bottom so you can let us know what you made of the whole thing.
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Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct - The Full Presentation
Just in case you haven't watched the Direct yet, we'll start by sticking the full presentation here so you know what we're talking about in the following list.
We also wouldn't blame you if you simply want to watch it again, just so you know...
What was the difference between the US and UK Directs?
And what's this? The Direct showcased different footage depending on which regional YouTube channel you were watching! The changes are subtle, we'll admit, mostly switching up the 'protagonist' Mii's appearance and some food choices along the way (pizza in the UK stream was noodles in the Japanese one). There's also a different narrator by region, of course.
We've relied on the North American version (above) for this breakdown, but be sure to head over to the Nintendo UK and Japanese channels to see some more variants.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct Round Up
Okay, now let's break down all of those announcements and reveals, starting with the most important factor of all: Mii customisation!
Mii Customisation
Much like the Switch version of Miitopia before it, Living the Dream boasts a huge number of Mii customisation options, so you can get your avatar looking just how you want them.
We spied a huge number of hairstyles (with bonus 'bangs' and 'back' options), hair dye potential, noses, and even ear shapes. There even seems to be a few more personality questions this time around, so you can fine-tune the Mii's Movement, Speech, Energy, Thinking, and 'Overall' levels.
And once all of that is out of the way, you can then add face paint to the Miis for an extra touch of detail.
You can either make a Mii from scratch, choosing all their features and personality traits, or by answering questions about their look.
Gender and Dating Preferences
One of the hot topics of the original game's 3DS release was the absence of same-sex marriage. While the Direct didn't outright confirm anything on this front, it did flag that you can now choose each Mii's dating preferences, with Male, Female, and Nonbinary options all available.
Those three options also apply to which gender you'd like your Mii to be.