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2025 has already been a thriving year for Nintendo with the release of the Switch 2 being followed by highly touted exclusives like Mario Kart: World and Donkey Kong Bananza.
Yet, there’s still plenty of burning questions for the future of Nintendo’s first party. When’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond getting released? What’s Nintendo got planned for the 40th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros.? When will we see gameplay for FromSoftware’s Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods? Well, Nintendo answered a lot of these questions with their latest Nintendo Direct, so we’re going to dissect the biggest reveals.
Nintendo kicked off their hour-long Direct by celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. On September 13th, Super Mario Bros. reaches an astounding 40 years, and Nintendo is commemorating the franchise in grand style. The first big announcement came in the form of a teaser for the upcoming sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
After a brief flight through the gorgeous landscapes of the Mushroom Kingdom, Nintendo and Illumination took us to space to reveal that the sequel is titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Mario’s cinematic adventures are about to take the cosmic leap and beloved characters like Rosalina and her Lumas are going to be a huge part of Mario’s next adventure – along with Yoshi based on the last film’s post-credit tease.
Plus, despite the major focus on Galaxy’s lore and music, Illumination’s Chris Meledandri ensured that the film would feature surprises and moments for Mario fans of all eras. Admittedly, it was a bummer to see no new cast announcements or even a firm release date outside of a “April 2026” window. Regardless though, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie looks to be the perfect celebration of Mario’s 40 year milestone – especially with the games announced alongside it.
To fit alongside The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Nintendo is releasing updated versions of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 – the latter of which has been confined to the Wii for far too long. Both of Mario’s adventures across the cosmos will feature improved graphics and be available for purchase separately on the Nintendo eShop when they release on October 2nd. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is making the leap to Switch 2 next Spring with some new content focused on multiplayer, minigame mayhem. The new content, Meet Up in Bellabel Park, features a wide selection of minigames for players and friends to enjoy and compete for the top spot.
Along with some updates to existing Super Mario Bros. titles, we also got two new game announcements that look very rad. The first is a new addition to the Mario Tennis series called Mario Tennis Fever that lets players show their skills on the tennis court with a variety of characters and special rackets. Along with the new inclusion of Fever Rackets that allow players to utilize special power-ups, there’s an adorable-looking adventure mode starring the baby versions of beloved Mario characters.
This new game looks leagues above Mario Tennis Aces on the Switch with an exciting new story mode and character roster that fans will get to enjoy when the game launches on February 12th, 2026. Mario isn’t the only one being celebrated for this 40th Anniversary though as Nintendo unveiled a new Yoshi game that lets everyone’s favorite green dinosaur hop into a storybook tale. The game, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, features an eye-pleasing artstyle that sees Yoshi traverse a magical book through some imaginative platforming. Those craving a new Yoshi adventure will surely be pleased to see more of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book before it launches on Switch 2 next Spring.
After the Mario 40th Anniversary announcements, Nintendo showcased some release dates for some hotly anticipated titles as well as some exciting surprises. On a smaller front, we got some updates and release dates for some third-party games heading to Switch 2. SuperGiant’s Hades 2 will bring some fresh rouge-lite action to fans on September 25th. Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally making its way to Switch 2 on January 22nd – which is a little too far away personally. Tomodadchi Life: Living the Dream got a new trailer that teases some more information in the future and a Spring 2026 release. And, Dragon Quest fans got a huge look at the upcoming remake of Dragon Quest VII that takes the classic adventure to new heights when it releases on February 5th, 2026.
For their first party franchises though, Nintendo answered a lot of lingering questions about their Fall lineup. Finally, after waiting so long, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has a release date for December 4! Fans will no longer have to wonder when they can get their hands on Samus’ latest adventure through a dangerous alien world, and Nintendo showcased some motorcycle gameplay alongside some thrilling glimpses of combat. 2025 has already been a standout year for gaming, but Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ending the year (hopefully on a high) will be *chef’s kiss*.
The latest addition to the Hyrule Warriors franchise, Age of Imprisonment, also got a release date for November 6th and showed some power-heavy combat that fans surely enjoyed. Donkey Kong Bananza also made a surprise experience to talk about some paid DLC that’s dropping today. In it, fans will return to DK Island not only for fulfilling nostalgia and reunions, but also for a new Emerald Rush mode that’ll have them smash and grab against the clock. There was also a brief mention of some DLC for the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A that ties into Pokemon X/Y, but that wasn’t even the biggest Pokemon news.
Nintendo totally threw everyone for a loop when they revealed a new Pokemon game starring Ditto portraying a human character. In the game, Pokemon Pokopia, fans will enter a world where their Ditto character absorbs the powers of the Pokemon they find to alter the landscape. Whether it’s using Scyther’s arms to cut down trees or Squirtle’s water powers to restore plant life, Pokopia looks like the mix of Minecraft, Harvest Moon, and Pokemon no one knew they wanted.
Admittedly, it’s a bizarre spin-off to wrap your head around, but it looked so charming and fun that we’ll keep our eyes out for more info before Pokopia comes to Switch 2 next year. Lastly, we got a glimpse at the newest Fire Emblem game, titled Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave, and brings a coliseum aesthetic to the world and combat of this iconic franchise. Frankly, it looks great and it’s going to be interesting to see how Fire Emblem’s visuals and formula improve with the Switch 2’s higher power. For now though, we’ll have to wait and see until Fortune’s Weave arrives in 2026.
It’s a great day to be a Nintendo fan and the Switch 2’s future looks promising. Whether it’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond officially coming later this year or The Super Mario Galaxy movie coming in the future, Nintendo fans have a lot to look forward to.
