Nintendo – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Minecraft Dungeons II could launch this September.

The Nintendo eShop listing for the game shows a September 29th release date and a price tag of $29.99, as shared by Wario64.

Perhaps this is a Summer Game Fest Live announcement that got pushed a little early; that event is set to kick off at 5PM ET. (We’ll be watching and covering the show, stay tuned!)

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A screenshot of the Nintendo eShop listing for Minecraft Dungeons II.
Image: Nintendo
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Pokémon Champions surges onto mobile June 17th.

Along with announcing when Pokémon Champions will arrive on iOS and Android, The Pokémon Company revealed the signature abilities of Mega Raichu X and Y, which will become playable in Champions after receiving free in-game rewards.

1/4Image: Nintendo / The Pokémon Company
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Here’s seven minutes of info about Star Fox.

Nintendo just put out a lengthy overview video about the upcoming N64 remake, which continues to look impressive. The game also launches pretty soon: it’ll be out exclusively on the Switch 2 on June 25th.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Nintendo Music is now available through browsers, tablets, and your car.

In addition to adding the soundtrack to Mario Kart World, Nintendo Music has been updated so you can now listen on a computer through a web browser, on a compatible tablet giving you more screen real estate for browsing, or in a vehicle with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with support for voice commands.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
30 years of Pokémon cards in one futuristic set.

To commemorate the Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary, The Pokémon Company is about to drop a special Celebration set that will feature the reprints of rare cards that have long since been out of print and a new style of illustration from Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN. The set debuts on September 16th.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
The original DK Rap and its N64 game are coming to the Switch next week.

The banger made a cameo in Donkey Kong Bananza, but next week you’ll be able to enjoy the original DK Rap when Donkey Kong 64 comes to the Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Classics collection. However, because it’s an N64 title, you’ll need a pricier Expansion Pack subscription to play.

A screenshot of Donkey Kong 64.
Screenshot: X
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Every message is better as a GBA startup sequence.

You can make your own right here.

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Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Nintendo’s new mobile game mixes WarioWare with your own photos.

Pictonico!, launching on iOS and Android on May 28th, looks very weird, but I do think dropping your friends into WarioWare-style minigames could be a recipe for something great.

The game will be free to start with a “demo of some minigames,” according to the App Store listing, and it will have two “volumes” of games you can buy: one for $7.99 and one for $5.99.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
How did they make Yoshi even cuter?

Before Star Fox mania descends on the Switch 2, Nintendo has an adorable platformer launching next week. And the new trailer makes it seem like there are going to be lots of strange critters to uncover, including what looks like a weirdo take on Kirby.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Five more Virtual Boy games come to Nintendo Switch Online.

The new additions include Space Invaders Virtual Collection, V-Tetris, Jack Bros., Virtual Bowling, and Vertical Force. Of the 22 games released for Nintendo’s first 3D console you can now play 12 of them using the new Virtual Boy accessory for the original Switch, Switch OLED, and Switch 2.

A screenshot of Space Invaders Virtual Collection being played on the Nintendo Virtual Boy.
You can now defend your planet from space invaders in 3D.
Screenshot: X
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The live-action Zelda movie is now coming out a week earlier.

The new premiere date is April 30th, 2027. Per Nintendo’s X account:

This is Miyamoto. I would like to let you know that the worldwide theatrical release date for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda has been moved up to April 30, 2027, from May 7. The team is working hard to deliver the film to everyone as soon as possible. There’s less than a year to go until release, so thank you for waiting.

It’s the second release date shift for the film.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Just listen to the Wind and Waves.

We’re still a ways out from Pokémon Wind and Waves’s release on the Switch 2 some time next year, but The Pokémon Company has just uploaded a video of the NHK Symphony Orchestra recording the games’ main theme to tide us all over.

Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
A good reason to wait a few weeks to buy a Nintendo Switch 2.

In early June, Nintendo will start selling “Choose Your Game” Switch 2 bundles for $499.99 that include one of three excellent games. You can choose between Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Pokémon Pokopia. It’s a savings of up to $29.99 on your first game, and a smart purchase ahead of the console’s planned price increase in September.

Image: Nintendo
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
GuliKit’s TMR joysticks for the Switch 2 let you get ahead of drift issues.

The Switch 2’s Joy-Cons use the same joystick tech as the originals, but for $19.99 you can upgrade them to drift-resistant TMR joysticks using GuliKit’s new kit. However, while the replacement TMR sticks can be installed without any hardware modifications, opening up the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons is a fairly complicated process.

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The Nintendo Switch 2 with its Joy-Con controllers detached and GuliKit TMR joysticks sitting near them.
GuliKit’s Switch 2 TMR joysticks are a drop-in replacement that don’t require any Joy-Con modifications.
Image: GuliKit
Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
I like my split ergo Joy-Con.

Dbrand’s new $20 Joy-Lock is simple, but great. I typically don’t ever want to use my Switch 2 Joy-Con, but that’s changed a bit since this holder lets them spread out for added comfort. The Joy-Lock looks and feels best when used with the company’s $20 grips (also included with the Killswitch), but they aren’t required.

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<em>The mechanism spaces the Joy-Con apart about as much as Nintendo’s stock Joy-Con grip.</em>
<em>Putting the Joy-Lock into Batarang mode requires pulling on the Joy-Con with a fair bit of force</em>.
<em>The Joy-Lock shells aren’t required, but they add some much-needed ergonomics to the Joy-Con controllers.</em>
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The mechanism spaces the Joy-Con apart about as much as Nintendo’s stock Joy-Con grip.
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
A musical Star Fox journey.

If you, like me, played countless hours of Star Fox 64 growing up, then I think you’ll very much enjoy the 10 tracks from the upcoming Switch 2 remake’s soundtrack that Nintendo added to its music app. They’re so dang good.

Nintendo also uploaded the game’s prologue, which was shown in this week’s announcement direct, as a separate video.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
One of Nintendo’s original developers is retiring.

Takashi Tezuka is stepping down at the end of June. He joined the company in 1984, and worked on the original Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda games, before directing titles including Super Mario Bros. 3 and A Link to the Past. More recently, he was a producer on Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Screenshot of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka at a table covered with design documents
Tezuka, right, together with Shigeru Miyamoto for an interview commemorating the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
Screenshot: Nintendo YouTube
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Nintendo’s new Star Fox game lets you play as virtual avatars of Fox and other characters.

When using GameChat, you can appear as an interactive avatar “that mirrors your expressions and movements,” Nintendo says. There are also AR filters that let you add “a pair of Star Fox-like ears or a Falco-inspired beak that moves when you talk.”

Check the avatars out in Nintendo’s Star Fox direct, or in the image and GIF below. Very silly. The game launches on June 25th.

A screenshot of Star Fox’s virtual avatar next to a real person.
A GIF showing Star Fox’s virtual avatar feature.
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Click the arrow to see a GIF of the avatar in motion.
Image: Nintendo
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Nintendo surprise-announced a Star Fox Direct.

It starts at 6PM ET / 3PM ET today — yes, that’s five minutes from now. You can watch it on YouTube. The show will last about 15 minutes, Nintendo says.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Super Mario Galaxy 2 just got a weird update 16 years after its release.

Nintendo added a new epilogue to the storybook. It doesn’t tie the game to the movie or add much to the story. It’s mostly just left players confused. If you don’t feel like firing up the game to unlock the new bit, you can watch it below.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Heart Machine’s Metroid-style action game is launching today on Nintendo Switch 2.

Possessor(s) was a bit of a slow burn for me when I reviewed it last year, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

In addition to Switch 2, it’s also available on PC and PS5, and the game has received a permanent price drop on all platforms to $9.99.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Dbrand has a better angle for turning the Switch 2 Joy-Cons into a gamepad.

Unlike the grip that Nintendo bundles with its latest console, Dbrand’s $19.95 Joy-Lock Controller Holder lets you adjust the angle of the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons using a ratcheting mechanism. You can also add a pair of beefier grips for an additional $19.95, and enhance the thumbsticks with a pair of stick-on textured caps for $9.95.

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Dbrand’s Joy-Lock Controller Holder shown with and without Switch 2 Joy-Cons attached.
For around $50 you can turn the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons into a comfortable controller that’s cheaper than Nintendo’s Switch 2 Pro controller.
Image: Dbrand
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Somehow Yoshi got even more adorable.

There’s just something impossibly charming about the storybook art style of the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, but if you’re curious how the Switch 2 game actually plays, Nintendo just dropped a six-minute-long overview trailer. The only thing missing is Donald Glover.