The curious state of Nintendo Directs in 2026

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Hey there everybody. This is Rob of Rule of Two Review. Welcome back to the channel. And I know that I have said that I've tried to move beyond making videos about Nintendo Directs and leaks about directs and rumors about directs and all that fun stuff. However, today I am making a video about Nintendo Directs, but it's not about a leak or a rumor or this other wider discussion that is going on about maybe a new partner showcase is going to happen soon. What about the June Direct? Maybe they won't have it. What if we're waiting to September? yada yada yada.

[00:00:34]It's not about leaks and rumors surrounding a Nintendo Direct. I just want to talk about the state of Nintendo Directs in 2026. I don't think anyone will disagree with me when I say that it feels like the state of Nintendo Directs in 2026 feels strange. It feels odd, right? And I want to add this disclosure and and reaffirm something I've said in some of my recent videos where I have talked about Nintendo Directs, you know, mostly this year, which is that um of course I love Nintendo Directs. I love any video game presentation because I'm a huge game fan. I run this YouTube channel.

[00:01:10]Nintendo is my favorite company. So, man, I love a good traditional Nintendo Direct or a game-pecific direct if it's about a game or a franchise I care about, such as the recent Star Fox Direct. So, yes, I'm a fan of directs.

[00:01:24]I'm always going to welcome an exciting Direct. That being said, as I've said in the past, I've I no longer need Nintendo Directs. It feels like a lot of the game fan base and the Nintendo fan base and the content creation space, okay, a lot of content creators out there, people just seem to need a Nintendo Direct like it's their life's blood. And that's just not me anymore. Maybe a few years ago, I was always on pins and needles waiting for the new announcement for Nintendo Direct. And I was really following leaks and rumors about directs and even making many, many videos in the past about that stuff anymore. I mean, look, man, I'm an old man at this point. I turned 46 in 2 months. Uh, I love this hobby of gaming, of course, but I no longer have the relationship to it where I always need the next big thing. And I need tons of games every single year and every single month on all three platforms. And that includes things like video game presentations and Nintendo Direct. So, this is all a very long-winded way for me to double down on recent comments I've made about the fact that I love directs, don't get me wrong, but I am also very patient nowadays in my old man days, right? My old man years. So, that I can wait for the next Nintendo Direct.

[00:02:42]But I still think there is a worthy conversation to have about just analyzing Nintendo's approach to directs. This isn't about me needing a Nintendo Direct or complaining that there hasn't been a traditional Direct this year. It's just more about how fun it is to just look at how differently Nintendo has been approaching the whole idea of directs in the Switch 2 era. I think we can make the case for the fact that in the Switch 2 era, there's only been two what we would call traditional or large scale Nintendo Directs. And one of those is honestly kind of cheating in a way because one of them would be the April 2nd direct last year. That was really just the full-blown announcement and reveal of the Switch 2, right? We got the initial tease reveal back in January last year, but as we know, it was April 2nd where they gave us the release date for the Switch 2 of June 5th and they talked about Mario Kart World and they doubled down on Switch 2 editions of games and we found out about all the Zelda Switch 2 editions and we saw Dusk Bloods and we understood a lot of the technical specs around the Joy-Cons and the Switch 2 itself and all of that fun stuff, right? And it also ended with the reveal of Donkey Kong Bonanza. So, I'm kind of cheating, but I feel like we can still call that a Switch to era direct. And even in a way, I'm putting it under the umbrella of being a traditional direct because it was like an hour long and we got tons of new main firstparty game reveals, right?

[00:04:05]It was it was a big deal direct. And then the actual normal traditional direct was then the one we got in September. Outside of those two directs in the Switch 2 era, again, including the one that happened in April before the Switch 2 even released, we really haven't had any other significant directs. We've had some partner showcases and we've had some other game specific things. Like I said, even just recently the Star Fox one, but we've all been waiting, especially now in the new year in 2026. Here we are the middle of May and we haven't had that first big traditional direct that we're used to.

[00:04:41]So, it's got everyone scratching their heads. Now, a big element to this conversation and probably the thing that made me realize that there was a a good talking point here that justified me making a video about this is the fact that in 2026, this year, where we haven't seen a traditional Nintendo Direct like most of us would have expected to and like Nintendo normally would have done by now, is that even though we haven't gotten that direct, what we have been seeing is a lot of uh Nintendo Nintendo today app reveals deals and information and Twitter drops of new game announcements and the Star Fox Direct and YouTube drops. Right.

[00:05:22]Basically, Nintendo instead of just giving us a regular direct, they've been relying on Nintendo today and Twitter, social media and YouTube for significant reveals, including, you know, lots of information about Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which is upcoming just next week and I'm very excited for.

[00:05:38]That's where we got all the information about Splatoon Raiders. And again, the Star Fox Nintendo Direct, which itself was a reveal of that game's very existence. All of that happened outside of a traditional direct like we would have expected. They It's all happened through social media, Twitter, Nintendo today, YouTube. That's how they've been do. And that is significant things.

[00:06:00]Yoshi, Splatoon, and Star Fox. big firstparty IP game reveals and updates happening without the need for a traditional Direct. That's kind of a big deal. And and the question I guess I'm asking is, is this a sign of where Nintendo is planning to go going forward? Are they trying to move away from Nintendo Directs? Also, a question I ask because a lot of people, maybe some of the more frustrated people out there because they haven't seen a traditional direct. A lot of people are starting to ask, is Nintendo no longer caring about Nintendo Directs?

[00:06:33]Are they moving away from them? Why haven't we seen one? What if we don't get one all year? And I think it's an interesting question, but I will say, and this is nothing more than just my, I don't know, gut feeling or opinion as a game fan and a Nintendo fan. I could be wrong, but my gut feeling is I don't think Nintendo will likely ever move away from Nintendo Directs permanently.

[00:06:56]Again, I am not denying the weirdness of Nintendo Directs in 2026. I am not denying the fact that they've relied more heavily on Nintendo today and social media and YouTube to get their big relevant game announcements out there. That is all very true. I just was talking about it. But when people have this concern or throw out these these concepts about Nintendo trying to change up what they've done and move away from Nintendo Directs as like a regular annual format, the reason I'm going to say that I don't see them doing that and I think Nintendo would probably never move away from Nintendo Directs is because at the end of the day, they are still too valuable. The branding of Nintendo Direct is still too prominent and relevant and well-known, well recognized, and anything that is labeled a Nintendo Direct still gets so much attention even from non-Nintendo fans that I think that Nintendo realizes even if they want to maybe shake up the rhythm and cadence of Nintendo Directs or try to change up their overall approach, the idea of a quote unquote Nintendo Direct, like I said, that branding alone home far too valuable in the gaming space. Nintendo has built up something very special that gets a lot of attention and eyes on it. And Nintendo is a smart company. Even if they do boneheaded things that drive us crazy sometimes, they are way too smart to let go of something that valuable. I mean, think about it. If you're watching this video and my channel, that means you probably watch a lot of other content creators on YouTube and Twitch and whatnot and follow a lot of other people in this space on Twitter and social media, right? So, you probably, even if you're like a Nintendo only fan, you still are probably very likely aware of a lot of other people in the content creation space, in the social media space, large people with large followings and audience, who might be more focused on Xbox or Sony, uh, or even PC or maybe all things gaming, not just Nintendo. And of those people, I bet that you know that even an Xbox or a PlayStation focused creator when a Nintendo Direct drops, they also watch it and tweet about it and they might make video reactions or discussions or podcast breakdowns surrounding it. Okay.

[00:09:15]When it comes to a state of play and when it comes to the Xbox directs, both of which I also like, by the way. I like them all. I watch them all because I have all platforms and I want them all to be great and I play on them all.

[00:09:25]Okay. But I don't as myself as a Nintendo first fan, even though I love a State of Play and an Xbox Direct, I watch them, but I don't feel motivated to really discuss them on my YouTube channel because I don't find them as interesting, even though I love my PlayStation and I like my Xbox, right? But when it comes to Nintendo Directs, and I'm not saying this is true for everybody, but by and large, you will more often see maybe Xbox or PlayStation focused creators talk about, tweet about, or make videos about Nintendo Directs a lot more often.

[00:09:58]And all of this is to say, it is that branding of Nintendo Direct that is so valuable. It holds a lot more weight and gets a lot more eyes and attention on it compared to a State of Play or an Xbox directs. Kudos to to Sony because the states of play or state of plays, I've joked about this before. How do you pluralize state of play? State of plays.

[00:10:20]States of play. Either way, um the state of plays, they have done a good job building those up over the years. So, there is a pretty good attention on State of Plays. I like them. People watch them, but they don't have the same brand recognition, and they don't command the same amount of attention as a Nintendo Direct. And I don't say that because I'm a Nintendo fan beyond the other guys. It's kind of just objectively true. And so that is why I think Nintendo is aware that what they've cultivated over 15 years, right?

[00:10:52]Cuz 2011, was that not the first Nintendo Direct for like the the DS, 3DS, Wii U era, I want to say. Um or maybe that would have been the Wii.

[00:11:02]Actually, it would have been the Wii era. Either way, I'm pretty sure DirectX as a brand started in 2011 and it's 2026, so 15 years ago, over 15 years, Nintendo has cultivated something so valuable. And even when people hate a Nintendo Direct, there is so much discussion and games still get shown and talked about, even if people don't like it. Even when people are upset about there being a partner presentation or an indie direct because they're waiting for a traditional direct instead, people still watch them. They get millions of views. They garner a lot of attention.

[00:11:34]People talk about these things and games get discussed. Nintendo's partners also probably want them to keep making directs because they get their games out to the huge Nintendo audience. And so to just try to put this to bed and explain why I believe this, these are the reasons why I think even though yes, in 2026 it's been weird the Nintendo Direct situation. We've had a partner showcase, we've had the Star Fox Direct, maybe there's another one. Um, I mean, there Pokemon does a thing every year, too.

[00:12:03]Although, I don't think those are called directs. And I don't follow Pokemon, you know, so I I'm I can't speak intelligently to that. But the point is, we've had weird directs this year. We have not yet had the traditional one.

[00:12:15]People are worried that Nintendo's going to move away from them. And for all the reasons I just blabbed about, I don't think Nintendo will ever let go of something as valuable as a Nintendo Direct. And so to start to wrap this up, what does that mean for Nintendo Directs this year for the rest of 2026?

[00:12:32]I mean, look, man, I'm not the pessimist a lot of other people are out there.

[00:12:36]We're going to get a Nintendo Direct soon. There's this yet another like every other week the the fake rumor mill on the internet starts to churn out something so that it gives an excuse for a lot of people to make content and tweets and get attention about, oh, Nintendo direct leak and rumor, you know. Um, and so there's yet another one going on out there like, ooh, there's all these people hinting at a partner showcase like next week, you know, in the month of May, next week there's going to be a partner showcase. And look, I can't pretend to know if that's true or not, it doesn't feel accurate to me. I would say any discussions going on out there around an upcoming Nintendo Direct, to me, and I made a tweet about this myself, is is very likely just going to be the June Direct. You know, we we kept waiting in February, March, and April for a Nintendo Direct, and all these people pretended to know that there's going to be one soon in February, and March, and they kept moving the goalpost, and a freaking Direct never happened, by the way. So, do with that information what you will, okay? I'm going to put that control in your hands to make your own decision, an assessment about what that means, that all these people claimed directs were going to happen, and they never happened. But we never got the direct that we thought we would get in the first half of the year so far. But we've all kind of continued to believe in that June direct. There usually is one. Not always, but 90% of the time, even in a post E3 world, there is a direct in June or a big summer presentation. And as crazy as it feels to say, June starts in two weeks, you guys. So maybe in two to three weeks, in the first week of June, that's when the next direct is going to happen. that summer direct, that June direct, which would be theoretically a traditional show, and give us all sorts of information. That would be a couple of weeks before Star Fox comes out.

[00:14:22]It'll be right after Yoshi. They would probably talk about things like Fire Emblem, more information about Star Fox, reveal whatever the big holiday game is going to be. Is it going to be Mario? Is it going to be Smash Brothers? Is it going to be something else? I'm a sucker for Metroid as you know. So maybe the Metroid 6 reveal we all want to believe is happening would actually happen there. Maybe they are planning a backto-back Metroid year where we get Prime 4 last year and maybe Metroid 6 this year. Like it's not impossible even though it's not likely either. And so I think that we all need to remind ourselves that June is around the corner at this point. We need to let go of this discussion about a partner showcase or about a direct this month and let's just wait and see what happens in June. Maybe none of these things happen. Maybe all of these things happen. I'm not claiming anything that I know myself. This is just me spitballing as a fan at this point. Um, but I wanted to just put this out there that I don't think directs are going to go away. We're going to get one probably next month. And even if we don't, it'll suck. Sure, but then we'll probably get the one in September. And Nintendo will continue to be weird about directs this year. It is strange that in the second year of the Switch's life, they don't seem more prepared for big announcements outside of Star Fox. So, you know, kudos because that's a massive announcement. But outside of that, the traditional directs and the other bigger announcements and the confirmation of the holiday titles, it seems a little weird that they maybe weren't prepared for year two of the Switch 2. Um, but I think that that information will come and maybe the first half of 2026 is going to be a year where it's all about Nintendo today and Twitter reveals, right? What people like to call a Twitter direct. Maybe that's their plan for this year. I don't know. But I'm personally a patient guy and so I can wait to see if we get one next month. If we don't, like I said, of course, I'll be disappointed. But I'm not going to be angry. I'm not falling to sleep every night wondering about the next Nintendo Direct. I've already got games to play.

[00:16:19]I've got Yoshi this month. I've got Star Fox next month. I've got Splatoon the month after that. And Fire Emblem will come sometime after that. I've already got four Nintendo games on the slate for me in this year alone. So, I'm satisfied and patient, but other people are not, which is why I had this conversation in the first place. So, these are my thoughts, my random just assessment and two cents about the state of Nintendo Directs this year. What do you guys think about the weirdness of directs in 2026? Do you think they're going away?

[00:16:49]Do you think they're coming back? Share your own thoughts below. Thanks of course as always for watching and listening and I will see you guys next