Nintendo 2026 Preview: Confirmed Releases, Rumored Projects, and Major Predictions

Nintendo’s expanding 2026 lineup continues shaping the early Switch 2 generation with returning favorites and significant new projects.

Hardware by Katmin on Dec 28, 2025

A look toward 2026 reveals an increasingly interesting roadmap for Nintendo as the company heads deeper into the Switch 2 generation. Several first-party-published titles already have confirmed release dates, others are tagged for spring, and a few more appear strongly positioned for reveal based on ongoing rumors and industry chatter.

The following analysis first looks at the officially announced titles, then at what we may expect for the rest of the year.

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January: Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Switch 2 Edition

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Switch 2 comes out on January 15. This is another example of Nintendo's tendency to remake older games. Switch 1 players receive a free content update that includes most of the meaningful additions—new island features, co-op creation options, tasks, and customization tools.

Switch 2 upgrade is locked behind a $5 pack and is not included in any subscription membership. Choosing to purchase it grants 4K visuals, a new Joy-Con, and mouse mode for navigating menus, and functionality that uses the Switch 2 microphone to call over NPCs or other players.

Given New Horizons has sold well over 46 million copies, it makes sense that Nintendo positions this as January's primary release.

February: Mario Tennis Fever

February brings the exclusive Switch 2 sports title, Mario Tennis Fever, releasing on February 12. Although multiplayer has always been the heart of Mario sports titles, this entry appears to feature a more fleshed-out single-player storyline in which Mario and friends start out as babies and progress through various abilities.

You can play the game online with Nintendo Switch Online, and the graphics are great for the new hardware. One big hope is that Nintendo doesn't follow the Switch 1 approach of releasing games with little substance and then adding more for free over time. The best case scenario is that the experience is full with content on day one.

March: Pokémon Pootopia

Pokémon Pootopia, which comes out on March 5, is a mix of Minecraft, Animal Crossing, and farming and cozy simulators. It has a lot of imaginative, low-pressure gaming. Some gamers may like this trend, but others who like more intensive, skill-based experiences may not find it as interesting.

The game comes on a key card instead of a cartridge, a first for Nintendo-published games. We don't know yet if this will change. If you like the genre, it might be worth looking for more gameplay trailers in the next few months.

Nintendo, 2026 Preview, Confirmed Releases, Rumored Projects, Major Predictions, NoobFeed

Spring 2026: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream brings back the popular life-sim series with Mii characters in a new way. The new entry, which became popular during the 3DS era, focuses on character interactions, distinctive chores, and growth based on personality. People who like life-sim games, especially Animal Crossing, would really like this.

Spring 2026: Super Mario Bros. Wonder — Meetup in Bellbell Park

Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder seems to be very focused on co-op play, with mini-games and shared activities in Bellbell Park. This might lead to a Mario Party-style game, but many hope Nintendo also adds new single-player content.

Since the late-game levels of Wonder were so hard and fun, especially in the Special World, it would be great to have more single-player levels. The Nintendo Direct in February should include further information.

Spring 2026: Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a brand-new Yoshi adventure for Switch 2. It looks great, and it makes you wonder if the gameplay will be more like the harder Yoshi's Island games on the SNES and N64 or the easier Yoshi games that have come out more recently. We still don't know how deep the game is, how the bosses are designed, or how hard it is.

2026 (Unspecified Window): Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave

Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave is set to come out in 2026, possibly in the second half of the year. It has classic Fire Emblem design elements and some intriguing early cutscenes and gameplay clips. For fans who have been around for a while, it might be an instant must-buy. We hope Nintendo gives new players good reasons to join the franchise.

The Dusk Bloods will come out in 2026

The Dusk Bloods, a PvPvE game made by FromSoftware and released by Nintendo, is one of the most interesting titles. This release is extremely important because of the studio's reputation after Elden Ring and its expansions.

Early descriptions suggest players may work together to battle bosses across expansive environments while also facing threats from hunter-type players. Reports indicate this project has undergone more prototyping than any previous FromSoftware title. People have very high hopes for the game because Hidetaka Miyazaki is in charge of making it.

Nintendo, 2026 Preview, Confirmed Releases, Rumored Projects, Major Predictions, NoobFeed

Highly Likely but Not Yet Announced: New 3D Mario

A lot of people who follow the industry think that the next mainline 3D Mario will be announced in 2026, maybe as a holiday release. While Donkey Kong Bonanza involved part of the Odyssey team, it seems clear that the full team has been at work on a major new Mario project for some time.

There are rumors that the next game will see Mario traveling between multiple Nintendo franchise worlds. This might include themes like dimensional travel that have already been used in recent movies. At the very least, it looks like there will be a reveal trailer in 2026.

Highly Rumored: Ocarina of Time Remake

A ground-up remake of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is probably the most talked-about thing that could happen in 2026. There is a lot of evidence pointing to this project, such as interviews with Aonuma that mention characters from Ocarina, licensing hints like a LEGO Link and Ganon set based on Ocarina designs, and vague comments from trusted sources.

February 2026 is the right time to reveal Zelda's 40th anniversary. A lot of people think that Nintendo will release a big remake before the next original 3D Zelda, which is probably years away, maybe even 2028 or later.

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