Nintendo Direct June 2024: all the news and trailers
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeNo Switch 2, no problem. Continue reading…
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As promised, the latest Nintendo Direct is taking place on June 18th, and the focus is on games for the second half of the year, which is a good thing because, aside from a Luigi’s Mansion 2 remake and a game about speedrunning, the lineup of upcoming Switch titles is very quiet at the moment.
There are some games we know are in the works, at least, which could potentially make an appearance. That includes the long-in-development Metroid Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which isn’t due out until 2025. And, hey, maybe this is the time we finally learn when Hollow Knight: Silksong will be coming out. But given the way the year has been going, there’s a pretty good chance this Nintendo showcase will feature a number of rereleases and remasters.
One thing that won’t be there is the Switch 2 or whatever Nintendo’s next console turns out to be. Despite persistent rumors of an imminent reveal, Nintendo is adamant that “there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during this presentation.”
The Nintendo Direct kicks off at 7AM PT / 10AM ET, and you can keep up with all of the important reveals and trailers right here.
Nintendo shares the first gameplay trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Nintendo finally shared gameplay footage of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct. The brief video was classic Metroid Prime, featuring intense first-person gunfighting and scanning stuff in the environment. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little while until we can play it for ourselves, as the company gave a vague 2025 release window for the title.
We’ve been waiting a very long time for any scraps of information about the next entry in the beloved Metroid Prime series. The game was first revealed on June 13th, 2017, with just a logo, and when Nintendo announced that it was rebooting the title in January 2019, its video didn’t contain any footage of the game itself. When it said it was restarting development, Nintendo revealed that the original developers of the series, Retro Studios, would be taking over.
Eureka!
Finally, at long last, Ace Attorney sickos (including yours truly) will finally get what we’ve been asking for — a rerelease of Ace Attorney Investigations. It’s a spinoff series of the popular Ace Attorney games featuring Miles Edgeworth instead of Phoenix Wright as the protagonist. Crucially with this release, we’re finally getting a Western release of Ace Attorney Investigations 2. I cannot wait till September 6th to play!
Stray on the Switch.
After arriving on PlayStation and Xbox, Stray is slinking its way to the Switch in time for the holidays.
A new Mario Party game is here to ruin your family relationships.
Nintendo’s newest Mario Party game is here. Super Mario Party Jamboree features over 110 new minigames, 20-player online multiplayer, new locations, and new features that will undoubtedly infuriate your friends and family. And best yet, it launches October 17th, just in time for the family holiday get-togethers!
Perfect Dark with online multiplayer is coming to the Switch today.
It will be part of four new titles being added to the Nintendo Switch Online service. The GBA classics, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (plus the Four Swords multiplayer expansion) and Metroid Zero Mission, and an additional “Mature 17+” title from the N64: Turok Dinosaur Hunter.
I wanna take you for a ride.
A new collection of Marvel and Capcom crossover arcade games is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2024. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classics will contain seven titles, including X-Men Children of the Atom and both Sega Dreamcast-era Marvel vs. Capcom 2D fighting games.
It’s about time Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is released from jail and easily available again outside of a pricey Arcade 1Up machine.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a brand-new Mario RPG for Switch
To start off Nintendo’s Summer Game Fest-adjacent Direct, the company debuted a new Mario & Luigi game: Mario & Luigi: Brothership. It’s been nine years since the last Mario & Luigi game, Bowser’s Inside Story, which debuted in 2009 on the Nintendo DS before being rereleased with extra content and a whole new side story on the 3DS in 2018.
In Brothership, the Mario Bros commandeer their own sailing ship to explore an all-new world dotted with islands in their quest to return to the Mushroom Kingdom. The two must work together using their powers of brotherly love to overcome obstacles and beat bosses.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is getting the HD treatment next year.
It’s been almost 14 years since Donkey Kong Country Returns launched on the Nintendo Wii (followed by a 3DS port in 2012), and next year an HD version of the game is coming to the Nintendo Switch. The game debuts on January 16th.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake finally has a release date.
The game, first announced in 2021, is coming out on November 14th, 2025, and it looks incredible in a new trailer. And that’s not all: an HD-2D remake of the first two Dragon Quest games is coming in 2025.
Former Apple Arcade-exclusive RPG Fantasian is coming to Switch.
Fantasian is an RPG from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi featuring composer Nobuo Uematsu that was previously only available on Apple Arcade. It’s coming out this winter.
Switch 2 will be revealed before April 2025, promises Nintendo
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Nintendo has thrown Switch players a long-awaited bone alongside announcing its end-of-year financials results, confirming the console’s successor will be unveiled before April, 2025. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said that a next-generation Nintendo Switch console will be announced “within this fiscal year” — giving the Japanese gaming giant a deadline of March 31st, 2025. That aligns nicely with its current Q1 2025 rumored launch.
Regarding the Switch 2 console announcement, Furukawa said:
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