We’ve prepared a Nintendo Direct summary so you can learn all the news about the new titles! During the Nintendo Direct event on September 13, Nintendo revealed fresh information on some of the most anticipated games coming to the Nintendo Switch this holiday season and beyond.
The greatest news included the upcoming Legend of Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, as well as new Fire Emblem and Kirby titles as well as the Nintendo 64 remakes of Pikmin and GoldenEye 007, two cult favorites.
Additionally, the Nintendo Direct presentation featured world premiere footage for 2023 titles like Octopath Traveler 2 as well as teasers for games coming out this autumn like Bayonetta 3 and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.
Nintendo Direct summary
We’ve listed the most significant information from the Nintendo Direct below for those who don’t have time to view the entire 40-minute presentation.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Release date: May 12, 2023
The highly anticipated follow-up to the Switch launch title Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has sold more than 28 million copies since 2017, has a release date, according to Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom appears to carry on the open-world adventure concepts introduced in Breath of the Wild, despite the fact that just brief glimpses of gameplay have been shown in various trailers thus far.
Fire Emblem Engage
One of Nintendo‘s most iconic titles, Fire Emblem has gradually grown in recognition in North America and Europe after initially being limited to Japanese-only releases.
Players will be able to call former Fire Emblem game characters onto the battlefield in Fire Emblem Engage, which takes place hundreds of years after the events of earlier games in the series. Early screenshots demonstrate a significant graphic upgrade over Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the series’ previous Switch release.
Pikmin 4
Release date: 2023
Pikmin 4 was first mentioned to fans by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto back in 2015, but the franchise has lain dormant without any new information for some time. The series will now make its Switch debut in 2023, though Nintendo hasn’t yet released any gameplay.
For those who are new, Pikmin is a strategy game that allows players to control a horde of small critters to explore a strange environment. According to Miyamoto, Pikmin 4 will allow players to direct their Pikmin troops from either the traditional ground-level view of Pikmin or an overhead strategic view.
GoldenEye 007 and more coming to Nintendo Switch Online
Several downloadable classic games will be added to the service in the coming months for gamers who have the Nintendo Switch Online expansion pack. These titles consist of:
- GoldenEye 007
- Mario Party 1, 2, and 3
- 1080 Snowboarding
- Excitebike 64
- Pilotwings 64
- Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2
Before the end of 2022, Pilotwings 64 and Mario Parties 1 and 2 are expected, while the rest will be online in 2023.
Like many other retro titles published for the Switch Online service, GoldenEye 007 for the Switch will support online play. A 4K remastered version of GoldenEye 007 for Xbox systems was also revealed, and it will be included in Xbox Game Pass.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe: 35th anniversary
One of Nintendo’s first side-scrolling characters, Kirby, will mark his 35th birthday with a recreation of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land from 2011, which was first made available for the Nintendo Wii.
The game’s plot may be completed by groups of up to four players, and Return to Dream Land includes a selection of four-player minigames for sporadic play sessions. This concludes our Nintendo Direct summary, you can also check out all announced games at Nintendo Direct Mini.