A long-rumored Nintendo Direct is taking place this month after all. The Mario maker announced a partner showcase will take place on July 31, marking the first new Nintendo Direct since the Switch 2 launched in early June.
“Join us for a Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase tomorrow, July 31, at 6am PT!” the company announced on X today. “Tune in for roughly 25 minutes of information on upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games from our publishing partners.”
That’ll leave Nintendo fans hoping for a release date for Metroid Prime 4 and nods to what the company is cooking for its new hardware slightly disappointed. Instead of a new 3D Mario or Kirby Air Riders deep-dive, the Nintendo Direct will focus on third-party games.
We’ll presumably get release dates for the upcoming ports of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Elden Ring, but hopefully news about new ones as well. Microsoft is expected to announce some ports of its first-party games amid an ongoing multiplatform push. Are we finally getting Sea of Thieves or Diablo IV on Switch 2?
Some personal predictions for the event include finally getting a release date for Hades 2 (a timed-console exclusive for both Switch 1 and 2) and a mention of Call of Duty’s future on Nintendo’s platform, which Microsoft promised to support with the multiplayer military shooter following for the first time in years. Elden Ring Nightreign, one of this year’s best selling coop games and a cross-gen one to boot, also feels like an obvious pickup.
The mention of the OG Switch suggests players who haven’t upgraded will have some fresh games to look forward to this fall as well. With over 150 million units sold, it wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo continues to support the older platform for a little while longer.
At 25 minutes, this won’t be the big Nintendo Direct fans are really waiting for. That’s more likely to come in September. But it should help fill in some of the question marks still outstanding in the Switch 2’s first year. And with more powerful specs in tow, this fall could be one of the biggest for a Nintendo console in quite some time.
If Borderlands 4 can sneak its way onto the handheld hybrid, even at 30fps, who knows what other current-gen games can make the leap.
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