Nintendo might be getting ready for a new Direct, this time around focusing on third-party releases for the Switch. According to Jeff Grubb, a Nintendo Direct is planned for some time in February. Since this would be well before the planned April 2 Nintendo Direct revolving around the Switch 2, it likely has more to do with planned releases for the original Switch.
“I heard that there would be a Nintendo Direct this month,” said Grubb in a recent episode of his Game Mess podcast. “And again, it wasn’t much to go on, but it was something. A pretty reliable source said ‘yeah there would be one this month’. I asked again, and they said yes again.”
Grubb went on to talk about how this likely won’t be a huge Direct that fans of first-party Nintendo games should start looking forward to, however. Rather, this will likely be a smaller-scale Direct aimed at showcasing third-party titles or indie games.
“Does that mean that there’s a big, huge Direct that everyone should get excited about, that has all the answers for everything? Probably not,” he said. “But I think there’s going to be something – a mini Direct, a partner showcase, something along those lines.”
“Again, this could fall through. It’s strange times with Switch 2 coming out, and they already have a Direct announced for that, so who knows exactly what this looks like. But yeah, I think something probably does happen.”
Grubb brings up Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as one of the big questions that need answering, since Nintendo itself has been relatively quiet about the game. The company’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, did recently reaffirm the fact that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is still aiming for a 2025 launch in a recent investor call, however.
Furukawa stated that Nintendo still plans on releasing “attractive software as soon as we can deliver it” for the original Switch. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has so far been announced for the Switch. The fact that the Nintendo Switch 2 will feature backwards compatibility for Switch games also means that it will be playable on the upcoming console as well.
The Switch itself is still a big market for Nintendo, with the company having revealed earlier this month that more than 150 million units of the console have been sold. 4.82 million of those units were in the three month period preceding the earnings report. In the same period, 53.7 million units of software were also sold.
More details on the Switch 2 are expected to be revealed in April. In the meantime, there are also several rumours about games coming to the new console, including Microsoft’s revival of the Fable series.
