What To Expect From Nintendo in 2026

2025 yet saw the long-awaited accomplishment of Nintendo’s adjacent console: the Switch 2. But now, it’s clip to crook the leafage to 2026 and speech astir what’s successful store for Switch 2’s sophomore year. Nintendo already has a beauteous fleshed retired merchandise calendar for some Switches, a blockbuster movie acceptable to deed theaters, with plentifulness of surprises surely successful store arsenic well. Here’s what to expect from Nintendo successful 2026.

Nintendo successful 2026: What’s Already On the Books

Before we get into chaotic speculation, here’s a recap of what we already cognize is coming to Switch and Switch 2 successful 2026. There’s already a batch to look guardant to, arsenic Nintendo remains precise accordant successful pushing thing retired beauteous overmuch each azygous month.

That signifier begins this month, arsenic we’ll each instrumentality to our weed-infested islands and look the wrath of our neglected villagers erstwhile Animal Crossing: New Horizons gets a escaped update connected the archetypal Switch and a Nintendo Switch 2 variation connected January 15. New Horizons 3.0 is disposable to players connected some Switches, and it comes with a caller edifice to customize, a clump of Nintendo items, and tons of small prime of beingness updates similar upgraded point storage. Meanwhile, if you bargain the Switch 2 Edition oregon the $5 upgrade pack, you tin entree improved resolution, rodent controls, 12-player multiplayer, and more.

Just a fewer weeks aboriginal we’ll spot the archetypal marque caller Switch 2 exclusive of the twelvemonth with Mario Tennis Fever’s motorboat connected February 12. The large hook this clip is the Fever Rackets that assistance peculiar abilities similar freezing the tribunal oregon duplicating yourself. Fever volition besides diagnostic 38 playable characters, including Donkey Kong’s refreshed plan and – for the archetypal clip ever – Baby Waluigi.

If you emotion collecting ridiculous Nintendo products similar I do, you mightiness beryllium looking guardant to Virtual Boy joining the Nintendo Switch Online room connected February 17. You request 1 of 2 headsets to entree this forgotten room from Nintendo’s biggest nonaccomplishment – either a integrative replica oregon a cheaper cardboard option. That’ll beryllium disposable connected some Switches.

Pokémon meets Minecraft (or much accurately, Dragon Quest Builders, but that’s not arsenic catchy) successful Pokémon Pokopia connected March 5. This Switch 2 exclusive volition task you with utilizing Pokémon moves and materials to plan your precise ain town. I expect Pokopia to beryllium an tremendous deed this year: Pokémon and Minecraft are 2 of the biggest things connected the planet, and aft everyone’s done poking astir the caller Animal Crossing update, this looks similar the cleanable crippled for that assemblage to displacement to next. Amiibo are trudging connected successful 2026 arsenic well, and March 5 volition besides spot the motorboat of the Meta Knight and Shadow Star fig from Kirby Air Riders.

Pokopia is the past steadfast merchandise day we have, but Nintendo has a fewer games slated for Spring. Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup successful Bellabel Park is an enhanced larboard of the 2023 platformer, and 1 portion of Nintendo’s ongoing solemnisation of Super Mario’s 40th anniversary. It adds cooperative and competitory multiplayer minigames, and we’ve seen a tiny glimpse of what appears to beryllium a caller broadside communicative successful much accepted levels. I foretell this volition get connected April 2, the aforesaid time arsenic the caller brace of Super Mario Galaxy amiibo and conscionable a time earlier The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters, putting a caller Mario crippled connected store shelves astatine the nonstop infinitesimal Mario Mania kicks in.

The different brace of Spring releases is Yoshi and the Mysterious Book connected Switch 2 and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream connected Switch 1. Yoshi’s illustrated creation benignant looks truly nice, and Tomodachi Life is an breathtaking instrumentality for a 3DS cult classical with a hilarious out-of-left-field property that you truly person to spot for yourself.

There’s adjacent much coming aboriginal successful 2026: Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave volition people the strategy RPG’s archetypal outing connected Switch 2, Nintendo and FromSoftware are teaming up for The Duskbloods arsenic a Switch 2 action-RPG exclusive, portion Switch 1 players tin look guardant to Rhythm Heaven: Groove, the instrumentality of Nintendo’s quirky bushed minigame bid for the archetypal clip successful a decade. Finally, Pokémon Champions is simply a competitory battle-focused crippled coming to Switch and Mobile this year. We cognize it volition beryllium utilized astatine the Pokémon World Championships successful 2026, meaning it should beryllium retired earlier that lawsuit kicks disconnected successful precocious August.

On the third-party front, Switch 2 is getting a batch of large games connected time one, including immense enactment from Capcom with Resident Evil Requiem connected February 27 (along with Resident Evil 7 and 8 connected the aforesaid day), Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection connected March 13, and Pragmata connected April 24. Plus, each 3 of those games are getting their ain amiibo figures. There’s a batch beyond Capcom, too, similar Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, 007 First Light, and more. Hopefully we’ll spot cleaned up versions of games delayed retired of 2025 arsenic well, similar Elden Ring Tarnished Edition and Borderlands 4.

Pokémon’s 30th Birthday Bash

A immense constituent of Nintendo’s 2026 volition nary uncertainty beryllium Pokémon, which celebrates its 30th day this year. You tin safely expect a Pokémon Presents astir February 27, and – arsenic we determination firmly into the speculation portion of this yearly preview – I deliberation it’s going to beryllium a large one. I foretell Pokémon’s 10th Generation volition beryllium 2026’s November merchandise for Switch 2, and that we’ll get our archetypal look astatine them here. I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate accidental Pokémon misses retired connected its 30th day without a caller brace of mainline games.

But that’s not all: I deliberation 2026 is yet the twelvemonth that Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow travel to Switch. I don’t deliberation they’ll articulation the Nintendo Switch Online subscription room – it’ll marque you bargain them separately – but akin to however the Gen One games were dropped connected 3DS to observe the franchise’s 20th day successful 2016, I deliberation Nintendo volition tally the aforesaid play present and shadowdrop them the time of the presentation. The Pokémon Company is besides readying to unfastened PokéPark Kanto successful Tokyo, Japan, connected February 5, the first-ever Pokémon taxable park.

What Else Could Nintendo Have In Store?

We’re successful an absorbing spot wherever Nintendo has already shown a batch of its cards for 2026, but I inactive deliberation determination are a fewer things we don’t cognize about. There is Splatoon Raiders, the single-player Switch 2 spinoff announced past year, but Nintendo hasn’t committed to that launching successful 2026 astatine all, and it feels much fitting arsenic an aboriginal 2027 merchandise to maine astatine this point.

With November apt taken up by Pokémon, that leaves October unfastened for a Nintendo franchise fitting for spooky season: Luigi’s Mansion. Next Level Games has been quiescent since 2022’s Mario Strikers: Battle League (except for a tiny assisting relation connected Metroid Prime 4: Beyond), and fixed its accustomed three-year turnaround clip connected Nintendo games, I deliberation it’s clip for Luigi’s Mansion 4. The past successful the bid was a immense income success, truthful a sequel is simply a no-brainer. Just for fun, I’ll conjecture that the mounting volition beryllium a haunted cruise vessel Luigi has inherited for immoderate unusual reason.

2026 besides marks the 40th day of The Legend of Zelda. With a movie connected the mode successful 2027, and Nintendo’s wide signifier of launching astatine slightest 1 Zelda crippled each year, it’s a harmless stake to accidental thing Zelda-related volition travel retired this year. I don’t deliberation a caller 2D oregon 3D Zelda crippled is adjacent to being ready, truthful it’s astir apt clip for different remake oregon remaster. I’ll conjecture fans volition yet get the Ocarina of Time HD remake they want, but it won’t beryllium perfect: it’ll beryllium a touched up HD remaster of the 3DS remake that comes to some the archetypal Switch and Switch 2, alternatively than the gorgeous 4K reimagining we each imagination about.

On the smaller side, I person to ideate Nintendo is prepping DLC for Mario Kart World, and each signs constituent to it centering astir Donkey Kong. DK and Pauline strangely lone person 1 costume apiece successful World, determination are nary Jungle-themed DK tracks, and Nintendo’s wider propulsion for DK would lend itself to a DLC battalion themed astir him. And, I’d similar 2026 to beryllium the twelvemonth we yet get answers surrounding Nintendo’s mysterious Switch Online Playtest programme that's been moving since 2024.

I deliberation that’s astir each the country we person for 2026’s calendar, but Nintendo volition denote a fewer games this twelvemonth we won’t spot until 2027. Xenoblade developer Monolith Soft hasn’t released a marque caller crippled since 2022, and I person a feeling we mightiness get a speedy tease astatine what they’re moving connected successful the September Nintendo Direct.

And, my boldest telephone of them each is that we’ll get a tease this twelvemonth for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition to motorboat sometime successful 2027. I judge Ultimate could get the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe attraction this generation, with an enhanced larboard that carries america done the adjacent respective years alternatively than an wholly caller entry. Smash Bros. manager Masahiro Sakurai wrapped up Kirby Air Riders a fewer months ago, and it’s wholly imaginable he’s already hard astatine enactment bringing Ultimate implicit to Switch 2 with a fewer caller characters. Ultimate noticeably hasn’t received a Switch 2 show spot similar Super Mario Odyssey, the open-world Zeldas, and plentifulness of different best-selling Switch 1 games, and combined with the information that a caller Smash crippled astir always hits wrong the archetypal 2 years of a caller Nintendo console, it feels similar a premier campaigner for a Switch 2 Edition.

Nintendo Will Continue Expanding Beyond Games

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie volition deed theaters connected April 3, 3 years aft the archetypal made implicit a cardinal dollars astatine the planetary container office. I deliberation Nintendo volition discarded nary clip successful announcing its adjacent animated concern with Illumination, fixed they’re apt precise assured this movie volition execute highly good similar the archetypal 1 did. I’m expecting a ceremonial announcement of an animated Donkey Kong movie sometime earlier the extremity of 2026. You should besides expect to spot the archetypal trailer for The Legend of Zelda movie earlier the twelvemonth is over.

Finally, successful a spot of a bummer prediction to extremity on, I’m expecting a Switch 2 terms summation sometime aft March. Nintendo has fundamentally committed to keeping the terms wherever it is done the extremity of its fiscal twelvemonth – which concludes March 31 – but determination are nary guarantees aft that. We’ve already seen increases connected the archetypal Switch, arsenic good arsenic Switch 2 accessories, truthful it feels similar it’s lone a substance of clip earlier Switch 2 follows suit.

And that’s everything we expect from Nintendo successful 2026. What crippled are you astir excited for? Have you picked up a Switch 2, oregon are you inactive blessed with the original? Let america cognize successful the comments.

Logan Plant is the big of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN's Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favourite video crippled franchise of each time, and helium is patiently awaiting the time Nintendo announces a marque caller F-Zero. You tin find him online @LoganJPlant.