Every three months, Nintendo provides an updated list of its upcoming major releases to keep investors in the know - and as happy as possible. We've got our hands on that very list and shared it for you below, although it's not quite as exciting as it has been in the past.
The list doesn't appear to show any significant changes from last time, but it does at least confirm that the games mentioned are still on track for their expected release dates. As it stands, then, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is indeed still coming next March - without any further delays - and all those heavy hitters at the bottom of the list are still on the way, too. At least Metroid fans had something to cheer about yesterday with Retro's new studio hire.
Without further ado, then, here's the full list. It's all written in a month/day/year format, which is nice and confusing for us Europeans:
Japan (correct as of October 2019)
- Ring Fit Adventure - (10/18/2019)
- Luigi's Mansion 3 - 10/31/2019
- Pokémon Sword and Shield - 11/15/2019
- Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch - 12/27/2019
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore - 1/17/2020
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 3/20/2020
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition - 2020
- Famicom Tentei Club: Kieta Koukeisha and Ushiro ni Tatsu Shoujo - 2020
- Bayonetta 3 - TBA
- Metroid Prime 4 - TBA
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel - TBA
The United States (correct as of October 2019)
- Ring Fit Adventure - (10/18/2019)
- Luigi's Mansion 3 - 10/31/2019
- Pokémon Sword and Shield - 11/15/2019
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore - 1/17/2020
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 3/20/2020
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition - 2020
- Bayonetta 3 - TBA
- Metroid Prime 4 - TBA
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel - TBA
Europe (correct as of October 2019)
- Ring Fit Adventure - (10/18/2019)
- Luigi's Mansion 3 - 10/31/2019
- Pokémon Sword and Shield - 11/15/2019
- Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch - 1/3/2020
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore - 1/17/2020
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 3/20/2020
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition - 2020
- Bayonetta 3 - TBA
- Metroid Prime 4 - TBA
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel - TBA
It'll be interesting to see what Nintendo has in store for us after Animal Crossing, with 2020 looking a little bare at the moment. Hopefully we'll get Bayonetta 3 at some point next year? Fingers crossed.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 83
Bring on Metroid, Zelda and Xenoblade! No rush though, I'd rather they take their time than experiencing framedips or an unfinished game, there's plenty to play anyway.
So glad they've reconfirmed the release window for Metroid Prime 4 as TBA, I thought it might slip again.
what we need is a direct to strengthen up our menu for next year..
give me xenoblade soon, plzzz!!
Where. Is. Shin Megami Tensei V....Where is it?
Lots of surprises coming for 2020 I hope. They are currently focussing on a strong line-up for the end of 2019
Nintendo were doing pretty well with first party Switch releases so I hope this does continue into next year.
I wonder if we will get any small release drops during December... Stuff like NES Remix was appreciated on Wii U, a SNES Remix would be great.
@SnackBox Atlus will probably say something eventually... I am looking forward to hearing more about it myself.
Course the ones that people want the most, have no set release date as usual.
Is a slow first half on the year the new normal at Nintendo?
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch
Where's the US release?
I read this like they would release Switch games for Windows
Lol, I’ve learned nothing with this.
@shock_trooper Right. That's the same thing I just said.
Anyway, I hope we get the new Metroid game before we get the new Zelda. (As awesome as BoTW was) Most of us have been waiting a good while for a new Metroid.
To be fair I think we could do with a slowdown. So many must-buys in the last few months, and who has games bought that still haven't been played yet? Been playing for years (decades!) and this is the biggest backlog I've ever had.
We know a lot less about 2020 than we did about 2019 this time last year. November Direct incoming possibly?
That thumbnail was cruel. Animal Crossing is an absolute Day One. It'll probably be the first time I actually undock my Switch for probably two years.
Ninty confirms release dates (YYYAAASSS ... with pic of Metroid 4).
METROID 4: TBA (!!!???)
Pikmin4? That would be nice.
I reckon we're getting BOTW 2 and Odyssey 2 next year as well as Bayonetta 3.
So, no Brain Training for the US, then? Guess we're already smart enough...
And who the heck is this Major Switch? Is he the console's new mascot? And how the heck can an unknown character suddenly come out with multiple games all at once? And what type of games are they?
Also very interesting that they're going to release Windows for Switch games. Wonder how that's going to work and what it's going to add. And is it going to be a downgraded version of Windows 10, or Windows Mobile?
(for the people wondering: no, none of that was even remotely serious... )
Nice clickbaity thumbnail, Nintendo Life :-/
What is Famicom Tentei Club: Kieta Koukeisha and Ushiro ni Tatsu Shoujo?
Worst list ever. Give us hard dates or at least a quarter, or add some previously unannounced games to excite us. Metroid Prime Trilogy would do it.
BOTW2 will have an earlier release date than many fear (it's the Majoras Mask of this Zelda generation). I'm concerned that the work Prime4 has required will mean a release fairly late in the Switch's lifespan.
I feel like there should be another pre-holiday title, besides Pokemon. I wonder if there will be a surprise release, even if one of the Wii U Zelda HD games.
Pikmin 4 is my most anticipated. A bundle would be nice too!
BotW2, im calling 2021 on that one
Metroid holidays 2020?
Meh just a guess.
Feels light and sparse on dates.
November Direct incoming?
Well early 2020 is all PS4 for me then, but Switch has won TBA.
FF7R 3/3
Cyberpunk 4/16
TLoU2 5/29
I know that people who have been looking forward to AC since AC: amiibo Fail will be happy, Nintendo owes them big time, but I'm not an AC guy. And people will be happy for a real Pokemon game rather than Let's Go, but that's not me either. I was looking forward to Gods & Monsters but that got delayed.
And of course Pikmin 4 for the past few years.
@Grumblevolcano A Nov ND sure would be nice, but if the line-up is still that lame for the first half of the year, w/ nothing new, might as well just wait until March to counter some of the PS5 news as that will dominate all of next year once Sony unveils it proper.
Wait didn't we just have a ND last month? Yeah we did, and it was only slightly better than this, w/ old game port likes Witcher 3 and the wrong SW: Jedi game and the wrong Doom (for now). That ND basically made Switch the mobile advertising platform for PS & X1 games that Nintendo uses actual mobile games to advertise Switch games.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/09/round_up_everything_announced_in_the_september_2019_nintendo_direct
I was really hoping for Sunshine HD for Christmas this year. Yet again. Or Galaxy 1 & 2 HD. Or SS HD, the only Zelda (not counting CDi) game to only ever be on 1 console. No 3DS games this year, you'd think we'd get more Switch games. Can't wait for TBA.
Tokyo Mirage in January, Animal Crossing in March, what's the release for February?
10 bucks says it's a Wii U port. And I am okay with that. Pikmin 3 DX? Xenoblade X? New Super Mario World DX? HD Windwaker or Twilight Princess?
@rjejr Or Metroid Prime Trilogy HD, or Pikmin 3 HD-er...
I do hope that 2020 brings in sequels to ports they brought over. A new Donkey Kong Country or SMB would be nice. Mario Kart feels like a pipedream, but 9 really should be on its way. Lest we not forget Wario has yet to make a reasonable appearance as a headline and no mention of Pikmin yet. My body is ready for more 2020 announcements. Hoping something comes through once Pokemon is finally done dominating the news cycle.
@ThanosReXXX Pikmin 3 DX is the nomenclature of the day. Didn't that already release? Feels like my Switch library is very small b/c I already own so many games on Wii U. My Switch is a Gems of War machine, like 3 hours a day, every day, the past 6 months. It's an addiction. Maybe I should move to the UK to get some help. 😂
Where's my 2020 Pikmin?
Metroid is dead. Samus returns came too late.
Nintendo f’d up.
@rjejr The September 2019 Direct was like the September 2017 Direct, the fall/holiday was so insane that the Direct was fully focused on the rest of the current year with very little following year presence. Nintendo did announce Bayonetta 1+2 for February 2018 at the Game Awards followed up by there being a January 2018 Direct Mini though so they might do something similar this time. Just wary about early 2020 is likely when Sony does their proper unveiling of PS5.
The american date format irritates me. It makes no logical sense.
Day/Month/Year - Thank you!
With every criticism some praise must follow:
At least you're driving in the right side of the road.
@Grumblevolcano They could/should have something at the Game Awards, unless Geoff just spends 2 hours glowing about how great Death Stranding is before getting down on 1 knee and proposing to Kojima.
I just feel like if there was anything for early 2020 besides AC it would have been mentioned in the Sept ND. Sure there could be 1 more game, but maybe they are saving it all for holiday 2020 alongside PS5 and X2? Or maybe they are giving 3rd party games some room in early 2020? Feels like there should be more though, especially w/ 3DS out of the way. I was so sure there would be a Frozen 2 game on 3DS but even that isn't happening. SW9 is getting Jedi FO so close enough. IDK, maybe the haters are right and Nitneod is too distracted by mobile, Labo and Adventure Ring to put out games I'm interested in? I mean the games are there - Pokemon, LM3, Link's Awakening, AC - just not for me. 🤷♂️
@rjejr How would moving to the UK help?
But no, Pikmin 3 DX has not already been released. I might have even double-dipped if it had.
On a side note: not quite as addicted, but because of you having mentioned it a couple of months ago, I've also started to play Gems of War, and it's entertaining enough for me to not want to remove it from my Switch.
But between all the other free to play games and the games that I own on cartridge AND my Xbox One, there's only so much time I can spend on it, and right now, my "at least once a day" slot is occupied by Fallout Shelter, in which I've already invested hundreds of hours, and it's still fun to play, in my opinion.
And my latest addition is Asphalt 9, also quite entertaining. I'm trying to get back into Breath of the Wild, but I know that's far more of a time sink than either of these two games, so I'm still trying to fit that in somewhere.
@VoodooTrumpet Yes. Where is it? It were anounced during Wii U days and Shigeru said Pikmin development were going strong like 5 years ago, and later it were put on hold which ment no Wii U release, but Switch instead.
@ThanosReXXX "How would moving to the UK help?"
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/10/uk_doctors_can_now_refer_young_patients_to_be_treated_for_video_game_addiction
Though I guess you're right, it wouldn't help me, I'm not young.
I don't game so much any more as watch my kids play. Currently Astral Chain, which is probably a really good single player game but it's a broken mess of a 2 player game and they should have never let the co-op section out of the Q&A room.
Planning on starting TW3 - on PS4 where I bought it years ago for $15 - this winter. Or next fall after my kid goes away to college, gonna miss him. 😢
Tbh, i'm only looking forward to Xenoblade definitve edition, I didnt like XC2 so this'll fill my Xenoblade void on the Switch.
I'd say Metroid prime 4 but they're' gonna have to blow it out of the friggin park, like make Ridley comeback with a plasma sword level of awesomeness.
Oh wow, really? BOTW2 is still TBA, surprising for a game we nothing about nor have seen. This is disappointing.
Great to finally see a new F-Zero announced.
I hope they’re making some damn good progress with Metroid and it will be as impressive as BOTW was. The Switch has a large user base and it’s not super casual if the new Metroid is really good and sells well Nintendo might start caring about the series.
@Dogorilla A text adventure from the Famicom Disk System. There was two games, and the second one was remade on the Super Famicom, though only released as the equivalent of a "digital" game.
Too bad if Nintendo won't localize them, knowing how much fans like obscure old games. This one actually had enough of a fan base to get a fan translation of the SFC version.
@chardir That’s my favorite time of the year for game releases.
@GrandScribe The Switch user base isn’t super casual? Hm, any data on that, or just opinion..? 🤣
@rjejr Ah, must have missed that one. Well, either that, or not deemed it interesting, due to not being the target audience...
And yeah, I can imagine. Don't have any kids myself, but I can, to a certain extent, see how someone leaving the house can have an impact on you.
@SnackBox
I'm wondering as well, but more in a general sense. This is 1st/"2nd" party Nintendo content from what I can tell. It's not exhaustive.
Having said that, and considering what happened with SMTxFE, I definitely want and need some kind of update on SMT V. TGS was a disappointment in that regard.
@Mr_Muscle what’s your problem? If you don’t agree with me that’s fine but there’s no excuse for being rude like that.
Guess it's up to 3rd party devs to bring the goods. Luckily it looks like they will.
@KingMike Oh that's interesting. So Nintendo's making a Switch version of it?
I’m dying for Breath of the Wild 2... I need it now 😖 I’m sure it’s gonna end up being a 2021 game though...
Yeah them reconfirming these releases dates means nothing, considering they reconfirmed Three Houses like 2 weeks before pushing it back and the same for Animal Crossing before pushing it back to 2020.
doom eternal and doom 64 coming to switch in 2020, possibly jedi academy in 2020 as well. maybe duke nukem 3d 20th ann. too.
I hope Metroid sells well when it releases. I wish it had much more fans than it has..
@Dogorilla Yes, they announced remakes of them in the Japanese version of the last Nintendo direct.
MP4 in 2022 I reckon...
@tobibra That's cool, shame they're not localising them though. I didn't think Nintendo still released any games exclusively in Japan any more (other than Famicom games on NSO)
@MS7000 SNES remix would be awesome.
Next year might be looking bare right now; but that's a good thing actually. They're saving the best announcements for next year
In fact, I dare to say that next year will be Switches' biggest AAA year to date, not just in first-party games, but third-party too. Oh, and Mario will turn 35, so.....
Also, what about December?! Brain Age will only come to Japan in fact.
Cannot wait for a Bayo 3 release date or at the very least a window for it!!!
There aren't many heavy hitters in the next few months that I'm interested in barring Tokyo Mirage Sessions (though I may just get it for the Wii U due to the price) and Pokemon Sword/Shield, but I'm fine with that. I want all three of the further out releases and want them to spend plenty of time in the oven. In the meantime, I'll be (hopefully) catching up on my backlog a little.
Why oh why do I like RPGs so much?
@GrandScribe Just questioning BS when I see it! No worries
@Aneira Fun fact. America got that format from the UK. Another fun fact, the UK is still doing it wrong. According to the International Standardisation Organisation it should be yyyy-mm-dd.
Please don´t rush ANYTHING (looking at you Link´s Awakening performance... -.- )
I’m still waiting for Metroid Prime Trilogy. It looks like I’ll be waiting forever.
@Rafie I'm just starting BotW myself now. Given how much time I have, I'll probably be finishing up when BotW 2 comes around. The game is so huge, and I'm quite OCD so I'm uncovering everything I possibly can as I go. It's a masterpiece.
Yes!!! Those eagerly awaited Switch titles are confirmed to be coming out sometime between 2020 and the sun burning out! I'm so glad Nintendo Life broke this hot story.
Thats all major first/second party releases or all major releases (includind third parties). Well in Nintendo case major releases are almost all first party releases. I would be more interested in third parties announcements
@BorderlineJon It's so much to do in that game. It's definitely one of THEE best games I've ever played. Very easy to get immersed in Hyrule like you're actually there. I'm with ya on that OCD thing with having to complete and get everything. I'm like that too.
used Metroid 4 as thumbnail
"Metroid 4 and Botw 2 dates that"
Loving this headline/picture nonsequitur.
@chardir lol considering there is no release window for M4 I would say 👍
@BorderlineJon ohh man. I have 180 hours on that game. Still have 20% of the map to go over. Bought it on release so when they came out with the dlc with tracking I had to go back over the whole areas to ensure I got everything lol.
Gotta pop that back in and finish finding everything but so many good games to play out my head wants to explode.
Bayonetta 3 will be 2020, Breath of the Wild sequel will be 2021 and Metroid Prime 4 will be 2022 that is my predictions for release windows
@SnackBox They're only talking about their own games here. First party games or games they're publishing. So far it's being assumed that Atlus is both developing and publishing SMTV, which is why Nintendo aren't talking about it.
@Danito Performance is hardly trash, nor was it rushed. Aonuma made a subtle tease about the development of the game before BotW was even released.
Metroid Prime 4 is still TBA...I'm sorry NL, but with that thumbnail, this article was definitely clickbait, and you just wasted some of my time. Not cool, NL. :/
Let's see what surprises Nintendo have for us next year. What franchises haven't they redone on the switch yet?
Pikmin surely. New Mario, or a galaxy game. Maybe a Mario RPG, I can dream of a sequel to the TYOD. Another Mario kart game would be a massive money spinner.
Given the new consoles at Xmas, what will their Xmas 2020 titles be? Could Zelda be ready? Metroid won't be ... The next Xeno game? Thinking about it, I'll put my money on a major Mario title for next Xmas.
I didn't even know there was a sequel to Breath of the Wild in the works. If it comes out before Metroid Prime IV and Bayonetta 3, someone's getting thrown out a window!
@Dirty0814 @Rafie yes it's compulsive. Doing it blind like I do with most games. Sure I will miss things, but going for to dot across the map with the pro HUD is just pure freedom..
i think is more likely that the sequel of Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild will be a 2020 Holiday game and Metroid Prime 4 will release in holiday 2021 or 2022 holiday game, the sequel of Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild will release in holiday of next year problaby because Nintendo already have the groundwork for this game so this shorten the development of this game, and Metroid Prime 4 will take a little longer to release because Nintendo and now Retro Studios have to reboot the development of the game in meantime Nintendo could release a HD remaster or remake of Metroid Prime Trilogy to ease our wait until Metroid Prime 4 release for the Switch in 2021/2022.
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