When is Nintendo Direct? How to watch the Switch games showcase live
Nintendo will host its second Direct presentation of the year this week, where it will offer new looks at its biggest upcoming games, the Japanese company has revealed.
The live show comes as Nintendo’s second best-selling console of all time, the seven-year-old Nintendo Switch, enters its twilight days. Don’t fret, though, a successor is in the works and could be out as soon as the end of March 2025.
While we won’t hear about the new hardware at the Direct show, it will still be worth tuning in to see trailers for the best Nintendo has to offer for the remainder of the year. Think Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, and maybe even Metroid Prime 4.
When is Nintendo Direct?
Nintendo has revealed that its next Direct will take place on Tuesday, June 18, at 3pm UK time. The 40-minute show will be devoted to Switch games releasing in the second half of this year. Unfortunately, the Switch 2 won’t make an appearance.
How to watch live
As usual, the entire presentation will be livestreamed on the Nintendo Direct website and Nintendo UK YouTube channel, which you can watch below.
What to expect
If Nintendo stays true to its word, then this could be a muted showcase. The only major games Nintendo has thus far confirmed for the rest of this year are Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD (June 27), Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (July 18), and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (October 10). It’s safe to say that two superfluous remakes and a sequel to an (albeit cult) cozy game aren’t going to set the gaming world alight.
Far more exciting are the rumoured Switch games Nintendo has on its docket, along with a handful of titles without release dates. Maybe we’ll find out if Metroid Prime 4 is still alive – though you’d be forgiven for thinking it dead and buried after seven years of near radio silence. The return of space-faring heroine Samus Aran in a labyrinthine new adventure could be the stick of dynamite the show needs.
For years, fans have also been hoping for a fated Zelda bundle that brings together two beloved Nintendo GameCube games, the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Was it all a bunch of baloney or could Nintendo surprise players by making it official? We’ll find out very soon.
Finally, the likes of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed and Hollow Knight: Silksong are expected this year, but still don’t have concrete release dates. Meanwhile, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the open-world game we got a glimpse of at the previous Direct in February, isn’t out till 2025 – but a new trailer would definitely get fans talking.
