Nintendo capped off a two-day announcement blitz with a full Nintendo Direct on September 9, one day after its Zelda 40th anniversary showcase. Per Eurogamer, the roughly 45-minute presentation zeroed in on games arriving this winter for Switch 2, and it was heavy on ports, remasters, and updates to titles fans already knew about. There were still a couple of genuine surprises tucked in among the familiar faces.
The new stuff
The headline reveal was Metroid Ravenous, a new 2.5D action platformer that strands Samus Aran on an unfamiliar moon where she must feed on enemies to survive. It launches on Switch 2 on January 28, with amiibo available on launch day.
Nintendo also revealed Kirby and the World Beyond, which sends the pink puffball into an open-world adventure. Polygon flagged an odd little trend running through the Direct: several games built around eating, from Kirby's usual swallowing to Samus draining enemies to Bandai Namco's Ondeh Ondeh: Kaya's Tasty Tale, a colorful puzzle-adventure inspired by Southeast Asian cultures.
Other fresh reveals included Marvelous RPG Eternal Anima, arriving March 4 with a future-sight mechanic, and a new look at Danganronpa 2x2, which adds a "Slayhem" route that reshuffles the murder mystery's cases.
The ports and updates
Most of the runtime went to games making their way to Switch 2. Monster Hunter Wilds arrives December 4 with local co-op and all prior updates, and its Ascendance expansion follows next year. Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the third entry in Square Enix's remake saga, was dated for April 8, while Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion shadow-dropped on Switch 2 the same day as the Direct.
The list of ports kept coming:
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Definitive Edition, February 25, with 60fps, a tougher Calamity mode, and a discount for Switch 1 owners
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3, December 3, with a new mode and a hero named Shimmer
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remaster, September 29, with mouse and motion controls ahead of its Songs of the Past expansion
- Pikmin 4: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, November 12, adding voice commands and a Dandori Academy mode
- Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 remakes with all DLC, October 16
- Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, September 18
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Royal Edition, 2027
Existing games got attention too. Mario Kart World received a free update adding 10 retro courses and new Knockout Tour routes, live the same day. Star Fox gets a free update on September 29 with four-player split-screen and stages themed on Katina, Sector X, and Venom. Professor Layton and the New World of Steam finally landed a date of December 10, and Level-5 confirmed Yo-Kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain is in development.
Eurogamer noted one notable absence: FromSoftware's The Duskbloods did not get a release date despite a recent network test.
What this means for players
If you own a Switch 2, your winter calendar is crowded. Monster Hunter Wilds, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation cover the big-name slots, while Metroid Ravenous and Kirby and the World Beyond give the platform some fresh first-party energy in early 2027. Fans holding out for The Duskbloods, though, will have to keep waiting.
