The fact Nintendo’s confirmed schedule of launches for the rest of 2024 only showed two as of this morning may have left some with the impression there weren’t many games coming to Nintendo Switch, as the company readies for an anticipated 2025 launch of its successor console.
Yeah, the June 2024 Nintendo Direct sure disabused us of that notion. Nintendo announced five first party games, closed out with a launch-window trailer for the long (very long) anticipated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Other headlines included Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the first game in the Mario & Luigi series in about a decade; The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, where players finally get to play as Zelda in her kingdom; and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, coming in January. And don’t sleep on the new Super Mario Party Jamboree game, either. The series has a dedicated audience, and they get their new release the earliest of all five (Oct. 17).
Here’s a roundup of everything announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, with their trailers, a whopping 31 in all. Some of this we knew, a lot of it is third-party crowd pleasers from Nintendo’s longtime publishing partners. You wouldn’t expect Nintendo to fill up 40 minutes by itself, would you?
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
This is the first game in the Mario & Luigi franchise in almost 10 years, launching on Nov. 7. Players can look forward to an adventure that combines platforming with top-down exploration and combat over a series of islands.
Nintendo World Championships NES Edition
Launching July 18, this is a Switch adaptation of the “NES Olympics” — the NES World Championships that toured 29 American cities with the goal of determining who thes best Nintendo player was. There are solo player challenges as well as head-to-head gameplay.
Fairy Tail 2
This real-time strategy game from Koei Tecmo is an adaptation of the anime Fairy Tail, and will launch sometime this winter.
Fantasian Neo Dimension
This turn-based RPG is on the way this holiday, with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi aboard as the director. That plus this trailer of heroes banding together to face an existential crisis should give you good idea of what the gameplay is about.
Nintendo Switch Sports gets basketball
Nintendo Switch Sports, which launched in April 2022, will get 2-on-2 basketball added to its suite of casual sports games. It’s a free update coming later this year.
Mio: Memories in Orbit
Flat honest, I thought this was Hollow Knight: Silksong based on the look of that character, my cognitive dissonance about that game was that full blown. But no, this is a science-fiction adventure coming in 2025, heavy on the visuals.
Disney Illusion Island new update
“Mystery in Month” is a surprise update coming to Disney Illusion Island, and it’s launching Tuesday. The game originally launched a year ago in July.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure
This is a Switch adaptation of what has been a mobile-only title since its launch in 2023. The trailer for this cozycore, Animal Crossing-like title gave a launch window of 2025. It’ll be a timed console exclusive when it does arrive, which of course means it’ll be coming to other platforms later.
Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
If you’re getting a Space Jam vibe from this suite of four arcade sports games, know that the other three are soccer, tennis, and golf. Looney Tunes staples like falling anvils and other mayhem must factor into your gameplan.
Among Us (update)
Another free update coming Tuesday is Among us, which delivers new imposter roles, and a new crewmate. The new imposters can plant tracking devices on other players, or turn invisible, which of course has plenty of utility in this social deduction game.
Farmagia
If you didn’t have “farming simulator X monster battler” on your bingo card, well, I didn’t either. In Farmagia, players raise a huge herd of different, powerful monsters to take out boss enemies and turn their ranch into a formidable battle station. The game launches Nov. 1.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Donkey Kong Country Returns was a hit with fans when it launched on the Wii, so it makes sense to polish up the visuals and bring it back on Switch, with additional content and features. It launches Jan. 16.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
First announced in May 2021, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake now has a launch date: Nov. 14 for Nintendo Switch. Remakes of Dragon Quests I and II will follow in 2025.
Funko Fusion
Funko Fusion is an action adventure where the characters all look like Funkos. The difference is these cross over with other pop culture franchises, otherwise, what would the point be of a Funko game. In this case, it looks like they’re all Universal Pictures properties Jurassic Park, Jaws, Back to the Future, and Battlestar Galactica. Funko Fusion launches Sept. 13 on Switch, it’s also coming to PlayStation 5 and Windows PC via Steam.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
This is a known quantity as it launches next week, but Nintendo wasn’t going to leave Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD out of the showcase. It arrives June 27.
The New Denpa Men
The way some of these characters are illustrated I’d have confused this cozycore social game for a reunion of Miis. But it’s from developer Genius Sononity and launches July 27.
Metal Slug Attack Reloaded
Fans of SNK’s classic run-n-gun side-scroller will be delighted to know the latest game is launching (looks at watch) how about nowish …
Darkest Dungeon II
Darkest Dungeon II released in 2023 on PC, but fans of the roguelike RPG will be happy to know it comes to Switch (as well as PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5) on July 15.
Nintendo loves the surprise, it’s-here-today launch announcements. Though this is a library of games coming to Nintendo Switch Online, they are a pretty solid foursome: Turok, Perfect Dark, Metroid Zero Mission, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past — Four Swords, which is playable online with friends for the first time.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero
The stylish — and super precious — adventure starring hero Merona is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
Seven games from Marvel and Capcom’s longtime collaboration are coming in a single anthology later this year. It’s not just the fighting game series, the side-scrolling beat-em ups are here, too, with loads of extras for fans of those days.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
The smorgasbord of party games — Nintendo called it the series’ biggest ever — comes to Switch on Oct. 17. Players will find five new games as well as ones from previous entries in the series. Up to 20 players can compete, assuming you can coordinate that many schedules.
The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom
At long last, players can take the role of Zelda herself in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. This time, it’s Link who needs saving. It launches Sept. 26. An all-gold special edition Nintendo Switch Lite, with a Hyrule logo on the back, also launches Sept. 26.
Just Dance 2025 Edition
Don’t sleep on Just Dance. At 15 years, the series has a kind of stick-around tenure that makes it a worthy colleague of Nintendo’s stable of characters. It launches in October.
Lego Horizon Adventures
This was announced back during Summer Game Fest; it gets another look here with a reminder the adaptation of Sony’s first-party series will launch this holiday season for Nintendo Switch, too.
Stray
Stray, an indie adventure starring a cute kitty, debuted on PlayStation in 2022 as a PlayStation Plus launch. It comes to Nintendo Switch this holiday.
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game
Still no launch date other than this holiday season for the life sim crossover with the Lord of the Rings franchise. Live as a hobbit and greet familiar faces in your village with Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Capcom is packing up two Ace Attorney games in this launch for Nintendo Switch coming Sept. 6. They’re Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth as well as the western debut of Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
In the wild setup to this adventure, high school becomes the last redoubt for 100 students who must re-train to repel an otherworldly threat. They have to hold out for 100 days against the horde. It’s coming early 2025.
Romancing SaGa 2 Revenge of the Seven remake
This is a full remake of a 1993 Japan-only release, featuring turn-based battles as the basic gameplay layer. It launches Oct. 24.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
And finally, the real big announcement: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is at last coming. Although, Nintendo only said it launches in 2025, but still, they’re confident enough in this title that it won’t be sent all the way back to the drawing board, like it was in 2019. The game was first announced in 2017.
