Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Everything announced at Nintendo’s February Direct presentation

Add as a preferred source on Google

The wait is over: The latest Nintendo Direct Ha finally arrived. While the company has held plenty of smaller indie and partner showcases over the past year, Nintendo hasn’t hosted a proper Direct since December 2019. Naturally, fans have been restless for an E3-caliber presentation — and that’s exactly what we got with this 50-minute digital showcase.

The presentation mostly focused on the company’s plans for the first half of the year, with a few 2022 releases thrown into the mix. The biggest headlines were a reveal of Splatoon 3, conformation of a long-rumored HD port of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and a release date for No More Heroes III. Sadly, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 did not make an appearance as some fans had expected.

Recommended Videos

If you weren’t able to watch the stream and want to catch up, here are all of the announcements from it in one place.

Nintendo Direct 2.17.2021

Pyra and Mythra join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s newest character is actually multiple characters: Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The protagonists from Nintendo’s RPG act as a dual character. The fighters are set to drop in March.

Fall Guys comes to Switch

Multiplayer hit Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is coming to Nintendo Switch. Originally released last summer as a free PlayStation Plus title, the game will land on Switch sometime this summer.

The Outer Wilds lands on Switch

Indie hit The Outer Wilds is coming to Nintendo Switch. The adventure game is a sort of sci-fi version of Groundhog Day where players repeat a 22-minute loop. The game will land on Switch this summer.

Two Famicom Detective Club games arriving on Switch

The Switch will get a duo of Famicom Detective Club games on May 14. Both The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind will hit the console on that day.

Samurai Warriors 5 coming this summer

Hack-and-slash game Samurai Warriors 5 is coming to Switch this summer. A short trailer gave a glimpse at the game’s new characters and combat.

Legend of Mana gets a remake

A remake of the popular RPG Legend of Mana is coming to Switch on June 24. The game is an HD remaster with rearranged music music, new visuals, and a feature that lets players turn off encounters.

Mario Golf returns

A brandnew Mario Golf game is coming to Nintendo Switch. Mario Golf: Super Rush features multiple new tweaks to gameplay, as well as new motion control support. The game features several new modes, including Speed Golf, a multiplayer mode where all players play at the same time. The game also features a story mode where players control a Mii and can level up stats. The game launches on June 25, with pre-orders available today.

Third-party games coming to Switch

Nintendo showed off a reel of third-party games coming to Switch. Tales From the Borderlands is coming March 24, a rerelease of Stubbs The Zombie lands on March 16, and Capcom Arcade Stadium is available today.

No More Heroes III gets a release date

No More Heroes III finally has a release date: August 27. A new trailer showed off the game’s alien-filled trailer, minigames, and new abilities.

Neon White coming this winter

Neon White is a new indie game by Annapurna Interactive. The action game is about slaying demons in heaven, and it appears to feature a unique card-based combat system.

DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power coming to Switch

A new DC Comics video games called DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power is coming to Switch on June 4. The cute superhero game features classic DC characters like Supergirl and Batgirl, plus a colorful art style.

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville announced

A complete edition of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is coming to Nintendo Switch. The game launches on March 19 and pre-orders start today.

Nintendo 3DS game Miitopia returns

Nintendo 3DS game Miitopia is coming to Nintendo Switch. The light RPG lets players customize Miis and take them out on RPG adventures.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons to add Mario items

As teased in the last Animal Crossing season reveal, Mario items are coming to New Horizons. That includes outfits, item blocs,  and warp pipes that can transport players to different parts of their island. A new update will hit the game February 25.

Octopath Traveler gets a spiritual sequel

Project Tringle Strategy is a new retro RPG that appears to be a spiritual successor to Octopath Traveler. The game is a tactical, grid-based RPG in the vein of Fire Emblem. The game allows characters to combine elemental abilities to create powerful attacks and features a story that changes based on player decisions. The game features the same retro art style that was used in Octopath Traveler. The Square Enix game will launch in 2022, with a demo available today.

Star Wars Hunters is a new free-to-play game

Star Wars Hunters is a new free-to-play third-person shooter coming to Switch later this year. Not much was shown beyond a teaser trailer, but it appears to be developed by mobile game developer Zynga. This is the first Star Wars game to be announced following Lucasfilm’s decision to take exclusive development rights of the franchise away from EA.

Knockout City is a new dodgeball game

Knockout City is a dodgeball-inspired multiplayer game where players try to knock each other out with bombs. A trailer showed off a cast of colorful characters, including a giant orc and a football player. The game features character customization and fashion. The game, published by EA, launches on June 21.

World’s End Club coming in May

A new game called World’s End Club is coming on May 28. The visual novel is created by the team behind the Danganronpa and Zero Escape franchises.

Ninja Gaiden gets an HD collection

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is coming to Nintendo Switch and includes three 3D Ninja Gaiden games including Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Sigma 2, and Razor’s Edge. The collection lands on Switch June 10.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity to receive DLC

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is getting a $20 expansion pass that brings new content to the game. Players will get new costumes and character stages from May through November.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD comes to Switch

Nintendo Wii game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is coming to Nintendo Switch with an HD update on July 16. The game features updated motion controls that allow players to control Link’s sword and shield with each Joy-Con. The game also features button control, which will allow players to play in handheld mode or on Switch Lite. A special set of blue Joy-Cons featuring Zelda iconography are also coming to the game. Pre-orders for the game start today.

Nintendo began the segment by saying that it had no new updates to share on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which is sure to disappoint fans.

Splatoon 3 revealed

Splatoon 3 is coming to the Nintendo Switch. A trailer for the multiplayer game showed off new customization options, levels, and weapons. The game will launch sometime in 2022.

Giovanni Colantonio
As a veteran of the industry who first began writing about games professionally as a teenager, Giovanni brings a wealth of…
Monster Hunter Outlanders arrives on Android and iOS next week with four-player co-op
The free-to-play spin-off launches October 29 with open-world exploration, mobile-focused combat, and a building system.
Monster Hunter Outlanders poster

It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.

Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.

Read more
Phantom Blade Zero makes me think Sony might have a point about going all digital
Physical games still matter, but when the disc isn't a complete copy of the game, the argument for keeping it becomes harder to make.
Phantom Blade Zero Featured Image

I'm a big supporter of physical games. There's something satisfying about owning a disc, lending it to a friend, or grabbing a bargain without waiting for a digital storefront to approve the price. But Phantom Blade Zero has me questioning one of the biggest arguments in the physical-versus-digital debate. The game's digital version launches on October 29, 2026, while its physical PS5 editions, including Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate versions, won't arrive until 2027.

And there's another wrinkle: the digital version reportedly needs up to 134GB of storage, raising questions about how much of the game can actually fit on a standard Blu-ray disc. A standard PS5 Ultra HD Blu-ray disc maxes out at 100GB, so Phantom Blade Zero may need to ship across multiple discs or require players to download additional data to finish installing it. Either way, the idea of popping in a disc and having the complete game ready to play gets a little murkier.

Read more
Nintendo Switch 2 jailbreak breakthrough shows what AI can do, but it’s not a one-click hack
The software-only exploit works on the latest firmware, but it's tethered and still has significant limitations.
Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 has reportedly been jailbroken, and AI helped crack the code. Developer Sammy Hajhamid, aka pepsipu, used OpenAI's Codex to help exploit the console, even modding Mario Kart World with the likes of Peter Griffin and Hatsune Miku. But before anyone celebrates an unlocked Nintendo playground, there's a catch: the exploit is tethered, not a full-blown custom firmware jailbreak.

AI helped crack the Switch 2, but it wasn't a one-click job

Read more