Nintendo Direct Bolsters Switch 2 Library With Metroid Ravenous, Persona Games, and Mario Kart Update

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Nintendo used the second of two Direct broadcasts this week to flesh out the Switch 2's winter and 2027 line-up, having devoted Tuesday's presentation largely to Zelda, including a deep dive on the Ocarina of Time remake. Wednesday's showcase ranged much more widely, mixing new announcements with ports, remasters and updates for both Switch 2 and the original Switch, and running well beyond the headline reveal of a new Metroid title.

The centrepiece was Metroid Ravenous, a new 2D instalment in the long-running series that Nintendo confirmed will launch exclusively on Switch 2 on 28 January 2027, alongside a special edition featuring a SteelBook case and three amiibo figures. Its announcement trailer, narrated by bounty hunter Samus Aran, shows her drawn into a subterranean escape after an ambush on a moon, fighting through hostile creatures while apparently able to drain energy from enemies to sustain herself, a mechanic accompanied by the tagline "it's eat or be eaten". Visually and mechanically the game echoes 2021's Metroid Dread, prompting reports to speculate, without official confirmation from Nintendo, that Dread's developer MercurySteam is behind the new title; the reveal was framed as continuing a recent revival for the Metroid series following Dread, a 2023 Metroid Prime remaster and last year's Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Beyond Metroid, the Direct covered a lengthy slate of third-party and first-party content. A Switch 2 port of Monster Hunter Wilds was confirmed for 4 December, while Square Enix content featured heavily: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion arrived on Switch 2 the same day as the broadcast, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the closing chapter of the remake trilogy, was set for a simultaneous multi-platform launch on 8 April 2027. Zelda spin-off Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is being reissued as a Definitive Edition on Switch 2 from 25 February, with improved visuals and frame rates, more on-screen enemies, all existing downloadable content, a new harder difficulty and save-data transfer, though existing Switch owners will get a discount rather than a free upgrade. Other items included the day-one arrival of viral hide-and-seek hit Meccha Chameleon on Switch 2, a further accessories-themed expansion for Pokémon Pokopia due later this year, a four-player split-screen update and new stages for Star Fox's Battle Mode from 29 September, the GameCube title Star Fox Adventures joining Nintendo Switch Online, and a Switch 2 version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, free to existing owners from 29 September, with mouse, motion, gyro-aiming and touchscreen support. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was also confirmed for the platform, though further detail was cut short in the available reporting.

Coverage of the broadcast was coloured by the mood among viewers, several of whom had entered the Direct expecting Nintendo to unveil a new Super Smash Bros. game following pre-show rumours, the series' last entry, Ultimate, having launched in 2018 and director Masahiro Sakurai having repeatedly, if not always reliably, suggested each instalment would be his last. As the show moved through its run of ports and remasters, some viewers reportedly kept expecting a late twist, a hope some accounts say briefly resurfaced around the Metroid Ravenous reveal before fading; the broadcast instead closed with Kirby and the World Beyond. Reaction described in that coverage included visible disappointment in live chat and on social media, with some viewers calling the event underwhelming, though this framing reflects one outlet's characterisation of fan sentiment rather than an assessment shared uniformly across all reporting.

• www.engadget.com
• www.polygon.com
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• www.theverge.com