Timeline
Monday5th Jan 2026
Random Lego Fans Have Apparently Forgotten What Game Boy Cartridges Look Like
Including us..?
The Lego Game Boy has, to be expected, proven to be a smash hit with Nintendo fans, and has no doubt been a blisteringly hot product over the Christmas period. But it seems as though many folks have forgotten what a Game Boy cartridge actually looks like, as photos cropping up online showcase the Lego cartridges with the top panel...
Ball's in your court
After The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it seemed almost inevitable that we'd see a new Hyrule Warriors title. According to a new interview with 4Gamer (thanks, Nintendo Everything), the folks over at both Nintendo and Koei Tecmo thought the same thing, and so it didn't take long for
UK Charts Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Clings To The Top 40
An unremarkable start to 2026
The latest UK Charts data is in, and truth be told, it's a pretty predictable, unremarkable start to the year. EA SPORTS FC 26 has once again taken the lead, with the majority of sales on the PS5. Mario Kart World maintains the silver medal, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still manages to keep itself in the top ten, despite...
News It's Official, Fitness Boxing 3 Is Getting Persona 5 Royal DLC
Out later this week
Imagineer, the developer behind Fitness Boxing, appears to be teasing a new collab with the Persona series. An official post on the Fitness Boxing social media account has shared some dialogue, and it's displayed with a Persona 5-style user interface. Here's what it says, according to a translation (via Gematsu): ???:
Sunday4th Jan 2026
Poll So, Now The Dust Has Settled, How Did You Find Myles MacKenzie?
Myles-age may vary
When Metroid Prime 4 previews dropped back in November, series fans were rightly worried that the biggest killer in the game may not be scourge of the Space Pirates and bounty hunter extraordinaire Samus Aran, but a geeky sidekick apparently out to murder the series' pensive, lonesome tone with his inane geekery and unwanted...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
"Your right hand comes off?"
Hello folks, and welcome to the first 2026 edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we looked at the iconic, if under-appreciated Ice Climber for the NES, and would you believe it, we had a tie! North America and Japan achieved a total of 38% each, with Europe trailing at 24%. In our opinion, the Japanese design is slightly...
News GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition Switch 2 Graphics And Performance Mode Detailed
Switch Online GameCube controller support also confirmed
GRID: Legends: Deluxe Edition was announced for the Switch 2 at the end of last year and will be "coming soon" to Nintendo's new hybrid system. It's already been confirmed this version of the game will feature graphics and performance modes, and more details about these modes have now been...
News Atlus Opens Persona 30th Anniversary Website
The next update arrives soon
In case you missed it, Atlus is celebrating Persona's 30th anniversary this year, and to get the party underway, it's now opened a special website. The Persona 30th Anniversary Portal includes an original illustration from character designer Sigenori Soejima, showing off the faces of the franchise. Apart from this,...
News Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary Logo Revealed, Expect "Various Announcements"
Dragon questing since 1986
2026 is a big year for video game anniversaries, and one of the many celebrations already getting underway is for the Dragon Quest series. This year, the long-running role-playing series will turn 40 years old. To kick things off, Square Enix and its official Dragon Quest social accounts have now shared a look at the...
Saturday3rd Jan 2026
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)
New year, new plans?
You made it. You're here reading these words in 2026! Well done, old bean. As is traditional, it's been a quiet week in the world of video games as most industry people take some time off over the holidays. Although not Eric Barone, it seems, as Stardew Valley: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition slipped onto North American eShops on...
News Pokémon Legends: Z-A Ranked Battle Season 5 "Coming Soon", Includes Another Mega Stone Reward
Get a Sceptilite Stone
Pokémon Legends: Z-A has announced Season 5 Ranked Battles are "coming soon". This time round, when you reach Rank S, you'll be able to claim a Sceptilite stone. This event will take place between 8th January 2026 and 29th January 2026. Players will also be able to earn a Baxcalibrite at Rank V, Chesnaughtite at Rank W,...
News Final Fantasy XIV Online Director Reportedly Hints At Nintendo Release
Is it finally happening?
The Final Fantasy XIV Online director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida has spoken about bringing the popular MMORPG to Nintendo platforms on multiple occasions. During a New Year chat, he has now been asked once again about the possibility of this title coming to Switch systems and has reportedly told fans to "please look forward to...
News Toby Fox Shares Development Update On Deltarune Chapter 5
Update: "Chapter 5 is on track to release later this year"
[Fri 19th Dec, 2025 02:45 GMT]: Before the year is out, Undertale creator Toby Fox has shared a "status update" about Deltarune Chapter 5. The good news is the fifth chapter is "really moving along" now. In saying this, the official release date could still be "several months" out. Fox...
Friday2nd Jan 2026
Guide 65 Switch 1 & 2 Games To Check Out In Nintendo's Holiday eShop Sale (Europe)
Update: Some fresh titles have been added for 2026
Update: As of 31st December 2025, a bunch of games previously included in this guide have now returned to their usual price. To compensate for this, newly-discounted games have been added and will remain on sale until 11th January. The full list has decreased from 100 to 65, but there's still plenty...
News Bloober Team Is Teasing Something Mysterious For February
"Dare to peek into the darkness"
Bloober Team has become really bloomin' prolific in recent years, having released Cronos: The New Dawn and a Switch 2 port of Layers of Fear in 2025, with none other than Silent Hill 2 the year prior. It's currently hard at work on a remake of the original Silent Hill with Konami alongside an original title simply...
Guide Nintendo Switch 2: All Confirmed Games & Release Dates
Every confirmed Switch 2 game
Switch 2 released on 5th June 2025 with over 25 launch games. Loads more have launched since then, with new game announcements coming on a near-daily basis. How many new games, though? We've compiled the following list of all confirmed Switch 2 games, including a section with rumoured releases. Note: We'll be...
All the games we awarded a 9/10+
Just a reminder that this NA eShop sale wraps up on Sunday night, so if you've been waiting for whatever reason, there's still time to pick up some New Year treats with a nice chunky discount... For those of you in North America giving the gift of Switchmas (sorry...) this year, then the Nintendo eShop 'Hits For...
PSA Make Sure You've Enabled These Opt-In Settings If You Want Your Nintendo 2025 'Year In Review'
When it eventually drops
Back in December, Nintendo announced that the 2025 edition of its annual 'Year in Review' — where your play stats for the year are collected and displayed in a fun little round-up — wouldn't be arriving until January this time. We're still waiting for further word, although at this stage we'd imagine it'll be coming next...
Nintendo Download 1st January (North America)
Space Invaders! Pritto Prisoner! Bundles!?
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America arrived yesterday, and today we're combining it with the Christmas Day download we missed last week. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Switch 2 eShop - New Releases: ARCADE...
News A Pokémon-Inspired RPG More Than 20 Years In The Making Is Finally Heading To The Switch
Better late than never
If you're a fan of pixel art RPGs with a hint of Pokémon in its gameplay, then you'll want to keep an eye out for Navinosuke – The Yo-kai Buster – on the Switch. Originally developed in the early 2000s but never officially released, it's now been updated with improved UI and gameplay for modern audiences. Developer...
News Konami Appears To Have A New Switch Game In The Works
ESRB rating for 'Enchanted Wonderland' sighted
Konami has been making a bit of a comeback recently, with the studio diving back into the world of 'AAA' game development with titles such as Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. It also launched Survival Kids as a launch title for the Switch 2, though we suspect that...
News Arcade Archives Celebrates 500 Retro Releases With Special Commemorative Game
Update: It's got 2026 underway with Space Invaders Part II
[Sun 28th Dec, 2025 02:30 GMT]: Last year in January, Hamster’s Arcade Archives series for the Switch and multiple other platforms reached 400 releases. Now, in an update at the end of 2025, it’s been officially confirmed that the retro-specialist has now hit 500 releases! Arcade...
News Pokémon Kicks Off 30th Anniversary Celebrations With Animated Logo Reveal
Feeling old yet?
It's a new year, and the video game industry is already gearing up for some absolutely huge celebrations. The monster-catching powerhouse Pokémon will celebrate 30 years on 27th February 2026, and to kick off this special occasion, The Pokémon Company has now shared its animated logo for the 30th anniversary. It shows Pikachu...
News Splatoon 3 Has Now Been Rated For The Switch 2
Following a Switch 2 rating for Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Earlier this week, a Nintendo Switch 2 rating for Pikmin 3 Deluxe was spotted on the European age rating board PEGI. Now, in another development, a Switch 2 version of Splatoon 3 has been spotted on the same website (thanks for the heads up, Gematsu). The difference here is Splatoon 3 already received
Thursday1st Jan 2026
Feature The Art I 'Stole' From Nintendo
And where it is now
It began with a Zelda T-shirt. I was wearing my “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom. Before long, he...
Feature "We're Going To Need More Toilet Paper" - This Is Mario Kart-Attack!
A Mario Kart Live anniversary blowout
We may only be a few months into a shiny, new Mario Kart game with lush open worlds and challenges aplenty, but as I scrap it out in yet another Knockout Tour or pootle about for P Switches and Peach Coins, I can’t help but yearn for something a little more familiar. It’s a sentiment shared by many, if...
Back Page I Was The Louvre Heist Thief, But I Was Just Trying To Steal Their 3DSes
C'est tout un gros malentendu!
In the magazine business, the back page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible...
Guide Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games & Accessories For January & February 2026
Old horizons
The new year is here, and with it comes the promise of video games. After a slow and steady start, native Switch 2 releases are coming in fast and there's loads to look forward to in 2026 already - and that's not counting any inevitable surprises that crop up in the next 12 months. The first two games of the year from Nintendo see a...
Feature Jump, Man - A Celebration Of The Greatest Jumps In Gaming
Jump day
Super Mario Bros. is now 40 years old. To celebrate this big anniversary, Omar looks back over four decades of gaming's greatest verb and/or noun... When's the last time you jumped? Maybe when hopping from a kerb over an autumn puddle. Maybe bouncing up and down to House of Pain or that Blackpink song. Maybe you literally 'jump into bed'...
Editorial Happy New Year From Nintendo Life
'26 mix
Good news, everyone! No need to bother with all that GOTY rigmarole next year, as it's already wrapped and bagged. Commiserations to the losers, and congratulations to Rhythm Heaven Groove! Catch you all again in '27... Okay, okay. That's a little premature, but the fact that we're getting a brand new Rhythm Heaven/Paradise game puts 2026...
Wednesday31st Dec 2025
Opinion No One Told Me 'Chibi-Robo' Is Traumatising
Just your very presence makes everyone happy, happy... happy?
Editor's note. Spoilers for a 20-year-old game inbound... I’ve spent 20 years “awww"-ing over the delightful character of Chibi-Robo despite having never played any of his games. This cute little robot is just joy incarnate – tiny and helpful with gormless black eyes. Whether it...
Feature Who Is Devon Pritchard? - Meet The Next NOA President Stepping Into Bowser's Boots
Dougging deep
In September, Nintendo shared the news that none of us could have predicted so soon: Bowser is stepping down from the position of top dog at the end of this year. The Koopas will have to find a new king, the Mushroom Kingdom will have to find a new menace, the kart racing scene will ha— what? Not that Bowser? Oh... we're going to...
News McDonald's Has Another TCG Promo In The Works For Pokémon's 30th Anniversary
In a pickle
The 30th anniversary of Pokémon is fast approaching on 27th February 2026, and it seems McDonald's will be putting Pokémon cards in its Happy Meals in a new promo similar to past events. According to a report from PokéBeach, it will run from February into March, with exact dates depending on the country, but that's all the details...
Opinion Wishlisting Games On Switch eShop Is A Game In Itself
Thumbnail and I
I love browsing the eShop, and the clicky sounds as you scroll across it. The pleasing crispness of the chick! sound goes so well with the Joy-Con button feel. There’s that camera shutter snap! if you scroll across a game’s gallery in quick succession, and on Switch 2 there’s a thumb-cheek pop! when you hover over a 2-wide...
Opinion We Need To Talk About X Games
X and why?
Most of the time, I'm pretty oblivious to game name trends. It's normally only when someone points out to me that all AAA games have names like 'Chronicle of Shadows: Rebirth', that I start to see that formula used everywhere — like when you find a trendy new pair of shoes that you swear you've never seen before, only to wear them out...
News Today Is Doug Bowser's Final Day As Nintendo Of America President
Devon Pritchard takes the chair tomorrow
Nintendo has announced that the President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Doug Bowser will be retiring at the end of the year, on 31st December 2025. His replacement has already been named — Devon Pritchard, who has been at NoA for 19 years and is currently the Executive Vice President...
Metroid mania
Nintendo has been marketing and promoting the recent release Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in all sorts of ways, and in case you missed it, it released a few extra offerings recently. First up, in the US, the My Nintendo Store is offering a printable Metroid Prime 4: Beyond official box art cover based on the Switch 2 version of the game...
News Persona 3 Reload Switch 2 Performance Update Now Live, Targets 60fps In Docked Mode
Update: Digital Foundry investigates
As the holiday celebrations get underway, Atlus has this week delivered a new update for Persona 3 Reload on the Switch 2. We noted in our review here on Nintendo Life how the "biggest drawback" of P3R when it launched in October on the new hybrid system was the 30fps performance. Thankfully, the latest update...
PSA Stardew Valley - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Update And European Release On The Way
The upgrade is available now in the US
Stardew Valley - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition got a surprise release on Christmas Day, but has admittedly experienced some teething issues. The creator Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone was quick to acknowledge this, mentioning how fixes would be rolled out as soon as possible, and he's now shared another update. For...
Tuesday30th Dec 2025
Opinion Metroid II Doesn't Care If Samus Lives Or Dies
An existential crisis courtesy of the Game Boy
I recently started playing Metroid II: Return of Samus for the first time. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was a way of staving off my intense cravings for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which as of writing still doesn’t have a launch date more concrete than the vague '2025' window Nintendo revealed over a...
Feature Mothers & Daughters - Women Are The Heart Of Hollow Knight: Silksong
Who runs the world? Girl(bug)s!
If you haven't yet made it to the end of Hollow Knight: Silksong — one of our favourite games of 2025 — then be warned, there are major spoilers for the entirety of the game below... Many insects are matriarchal creatures. For termites, honey bees, praying mantises, ants, and spiders (shh, I know they’re...
Video It's Time To Say Goodbye To The Lovely Felix-From-Nintendo-Life
Hej hej Felix!
As the new year approaches, it's the season of goodwill and change, new things and new horizons (and not just NS2 Editions), which means it's time for some news we've been sitting on for a little while. Yes, as you probably guessed from the headline, our lovely video producer Felix Sanchez is disembarking the good ship Nintendo Life...
Guide The Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games
The best Switch 2 games to play right now
Switch 2 launched in June 2025 and, although a young console in the scheme of things, it's built up a sizeable software library, mixing some choice exclusives with a host of 'Nintendo Switch 2 Editions', which include optimised, improved versions of some of the greatest video games ever made. But what are...
"Maybe I should start calling them chunks?"
June 5th marked the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, but that very same day (or the day before on other consoles), the highly anticipated continuation of Deltarune, in Chapters 3 and 4, also hit digital shelves. If you've had the chance to catch our review, you'll know we fully believe this Undertale...
Opinion I Reviewed 25 Switch 2 Games In 2025, And These Are My Top 3 Picks
The A+ Team
Yes, yes, I know. Only 25 games since June. I am a lazy sod. Regardless, I've had quite the ride thus far with my Switch 2. We're still not that far out from launch, and I expect super-duper exciting things in 2026. Loads of 'em. I can smell it. Oh no, wait, that was just my dog. Now, while I haven't had the opportunity to review all...
Back Page Every Game Should Have A Cow
No bull
In the magazine business, the Back Page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to our...
News Nintendo Comments On Metroid Prime 4's Placement In The Metroid Timeline
Take a guess
Like other iconic Nintendo series, Metroid has a timeline documenting Samus' space adventures from past to present. Although the newest outing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is very much its own thing, it is still part of the Prime series as a new chapter. Outside of the first-person entries, it's now apparently been mentioned by Nintendo how...
News Guilty Gear Strive Team Provides Update About "Future" Of Nintendo Switch Edition
"Switch required a great deal of effort"
Arc System Works finally delivered the long-awaited Switch update for Guilty Gear Strive earlier this month. Now, in a new development update, it has addressed the future of this particular version of the game. It mentions how the Switch version has required "a great deal of effort and ingenuity" and as a...
"We appreciate your continued support"
Since arriving on the Switch and Switch 2, Fantasy Life: The Girl Who Steals Time has been acknowledging major sales milestones. In a brief update on social media, Level-5 has confirmed it's now surpassed 1.5 million copies in worldwide cumulative sales. As part of this, the developer is celebrating with a new...
Rumour Monster Hunter Wilds' Latest Update Has Fans Talking About A Switch 2 Version
Is Capcom up to something?
Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has sold incredibly well on Nintendo hardware over the years and while there have been no official updates about the mainline series returning to Switch hardware anytime soon, something rather interesting has apparently been discovered in a new Monster Hunter Wilds datamine. In the...
