With less than a week to go until the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo gave the first Switch one last go-around with a Direct of its own. This Thursday morning Nintendo Direct gave us a clear idea of what to expect from Nintendo Switch throughout the rest of 2025 and even a bit into 2026. Unfortunately, we did not get release dates for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond or Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but we did get in-depth looks at gameplay from both titles.
On top of that, there were plenty of surprise reveals, such as Sony bringing classic Patapon games to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo teasing new Tomodachi Life and Rhythm Heaven games for 2026. To help you keep track of what was part of this showcase, I’ve recapped everything announced during the March 2025 Nintendo Direct. Read through this, and you’ll have a clear idea of what to expect from Nintendo Switch as its successor finally arrives.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond gets more gameplay, but no release date
In the middle of this Nintendo Direct, Nintendo finally gave us another look at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The long-awaited follow-up to one of Nintendo’s most beloved series was confirmed to still be a Nintendo Switch title, not a Switch 2 exclusive, but we still did not get a release date. Gameplay showed us our first look at Planet Viewros, which Samus is unexpectedly transported to, and psychic abilities that Samus can now use. It is a bummer that we still don’t know when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be released this year, though.
A new Rhythm Heaven game was revealed, but it’s not out until next year
After a long time without a new game, Nintendo has finally revealed a new title in the Rhythm Heaven series, which challenges players with tough rhythmic challenges. Most only require single-button presses, but require perfect timing as players look at the pretty animations and listen to the songs in each level. This new game in the series is titled Rhythm Heaven Groove, and it’s going to come to Nintendo Switch sometime in 2026.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream was announced for Nintendo Switch
Nintendo’s final game announcement of the show was Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, a follow-up to the cult classic 3DS title Tomodachi Life. These games are quirky life sims where players can watch their Mii-like avatars go about their daily lives on an island. Not much was shown about the game outside of a few funny interactions. Like Rhythm Heaven Groove, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream won’t be out until 2026.
Nintendo Today! is a new mobile app for Nintendo news
To close out the show, Nintendo revealed Nintendo Today!, a new phone app that serves as a daily calendar and source for Nintendo news. Shigeru Miyamoto teased that new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 will be released through the app every day after the Nintendo Direct next month. Fittingly, Nintendo Today! launches today.
Shadow Laybrinth reimagines Pac-Man in July
Bandai Namco Entertainment showed off more gameplay from its gritty Pac-Man reimagining, Shadow Labyrinth, during today’s Nintendo Direct. The gameplay looks reminiscent of Metroidvania games like Hollow Knight, and there seems to be a lot of depth when it comes to the different abilities at upgrades at the player’s disposal. To cap Shadow Labyrinth’s segment of the showcase off, a July 18 release date was confirmed.
More PlayStation games are coming to Nintendo Switch
Some classic PlayStation games and franchises are coming to Nintendo Switch in the wake of Lego Horizon Adventures. During the Nintendo Direct, we learned that the PS4 remasters of Patapon and Patapon 2 are coming to Nintendo Switch. They will be part of a single bundle called Patapon 1+2 Replay. It will be released on July 11. Later in the Direct, Nintendo confirmed that a new Everybody’s Golf game, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, is also coming to Nintendo Switch later this year.
Everything else
- We saw the first gameplay for Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, which will launch this year.
- No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files was revealed. It launches on July 25.
- Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army was announced by Sega. It comes out on June 19.
- Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, a remake of a Nintendo DS game, was announced. It comes out on August 27.
- Disney Villains Cursed Cafe was revealed. It’s out today.
- Witchbrook was confirmed for Nintendo Switch and got a holiday 2025 release window.
- The Eternal Life of Goldman was shown off.
- Gradius Origins, a collection that includes Gradius, Salamander, Life Force, Gradius 2, Gradius 3, and Salamander 2 was revealed. It even contains a new game called Salamander 3, and will be released on August 7.
- Rift of the Necordancer is coming to Nintendo Switch today, and will get DLC based on indie games like Celeste and Pizza Tower.
- Tamagotchi Plaza was announced with a June 27 release date.
- We got another look at gameplay from Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which sees players catching Pokémon during that day and fighting trainers at night. It still only has a late 2025 release window.
- Nintendo is introducing Virtual Game Cards, which will let players load and eject their digital games to the system of their choosing. This opens up the possibility of ejecting a digital game from one system and putting it on another Switch. Up to 8 Switch owners in a Family Group can switch games freely. It will be compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, and will come as part of a system update in late April.
- A sizzle reel showed off Nintendo Switch ports of High on Life, Star Overdrive, The Wandering Village, King of Meat, Lou’s Lagoon, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.
- SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered was announced. It includes new events and more party members, and it’s surprise launching today.
- Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 are coming to Nintendo Switch on April 15. Monument Valley 3 will come to Nintendo Switch sometime this summer.
- Marvel Cosmic Invasion, a retro-style beat ’em up starring heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, Nova, Venom, Storm, and Wolverine, was revealed. It’ll come out sometime in holiday 2025.
