The next Nintendo Direct may not feature any games at all, but rumours of a ‘proper’ showcase suggest February is looking very likely.
The moment 2026 rolled around, Nintendo fans immediately began wondering when the first Nintendo Direct of the year will air. While the publisher has a handful of games scheduled, some of them don’t have dates yet, and there’s so far no big releases akin to last year’s Mario Kart World.
Nintendo does typically hold a showcase within the first couple of months of the year and, in fact, has announced a new one that’ll be airing this weekend. Anyone hoping for new game reveals, though, will be left wanting, as it’ll be focusing on just one subject and it’s not even a video game.
Instead, the company is prioritising promoting its next cinematic venture, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which releases on April 3 and is the sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
When to watch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct?
The Direct airs this Sunday on January 25 at 2pm GMT and will be available to watch on Nintendo’s YouTube channel. In typical Nintendo fashion, precisely what will be shown is being kept under wraps.
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It’s safe to assume it’ll mostly consist of a new trailer, with Nintendo’s social media accounts sharing a new image of Mario and Luigi in their fire flower outfits holding fireballs.
Nintendo held two dedicated Directs for the last movie and neither one was any longer than 10 minutes. They only featured new trailers and some words from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, and cast members like Chris Pratt (Mario) and Jack Black (Bowser).
You should expect more of the same this time, perhaps with appearances from the two new additions to the cast: Nintendo superfan and Captain Marvel star Brie Larson, who voices space princess Rosalina, and The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie as Bowser’s equally villainous offspring Bowser Jr.
There could also be a couple of new character reveals. Very recently, Pratt told GamesRadar that ‘some really incredible’ characters that ‘people should be excited to see’ have yet to be shown. Time will tell if he means series mainstays like Wario or a genuine deep cut like Geno.
When is the next Nintendo Direct about games?
So far, there’s nothing to indicate when a more traditional Nintendo Direct with new game announcements will air. There are some vague rumours of one in February, but no exact dates have been put forward.
Nintendo’s track record makes February seem like a very safe bet, as one has aired that month every year since 2019. Plus, as we said earlier, Nintendo only has exact release dates for games up until the end of March, so it’s due to share some updates soon.
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Mario Tennis Fever is scheduled for February 12, followed by Pokémon spin-off Pokémon Pokopia on March 5 and a Switch 2 port of Super Mario Bros. Wonder (which saw a new trailer yesterday, confirming new content like a playable Rosalina) on March 26 – the week before the new movie.
Beyond that, it only has three other Switch 2 exclusives: Yoshi And The Mysterious Book (which has a vague spring/summer release window), Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods.
It’s also meant to be releasing new Tomodachi Life and Rhythm Paradise games this year, but those are Switch 1 titles and pretty niche as far as Nintendo franchises go, at least in the West.
On top of that, 2026 marks both the 30th anniversary of Pokémon and the 40th anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda, so Nintendo must have some announcements related to both franchises.
It’s also the 25th for Animal Crossing, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pikmin, the 40th for Metroid and Kid Icarus, and the 45th for Donkey Kong but so far Nintendo hasn’t announced plans to acknowledge any of them.
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