Everything announced at the latest Nintendo Direct

After a long gap between Nintendo Direct presentations, the company’s latest showcase has finally debuted. With over 40 minutes of fresh news for games launching in the first half of 2022 promised, there were plenty of reasons to tune in. Prior to Thursday, players only knew Kirby and the Forgotten Land would be launching this year. Now, there are a whole slew of Nintendo games to look forward to – including new Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles and Mario Kart.

Here’s everything announced during the latest Nintendo Direct.

This article has been updated since its original publication.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes announced

The first trailer began with soldiers running through a castle, and a familiar medieval world. That’s right, it’s Fire Emblem! The next game in the franchise, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, features musou-style gameplay, and a new story set in the same universe as Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

It launches on 24 June 2022.

Advance Wars Re-Boot Camp 1+ 2 gets a new showcase

A fresh showcase for the Advance Wars reboot reminded everyone the game is still on the way. The new footage in the Nintendo Direct featured newly-added modes, fully-voiced characters and online multiplayer.

It also got a new release date in this trailer: 8 April 2022.

No Man’s Sky is coming to Nintendo Switch

No Man’s Sky, the gorgeous, planet-spanning exploration game, is finally set to launch on Nintendo Switch in Winter 2022 (Southern Hemisphere).

Mario Strikers: Battle League is coming

Mario Strikers is getting a long-awaited sequel! The trailer featured classic Strikers gameplay, with a huge cast of Mario characters and newly designed outfits.

Up to 8 players can compete in this game (4v4), with options for local and online play. Essentially, it’s soccer with some crushing shots and high-speed action.

It launches on 10 June 2022.

Splatoon 3‘s co-op mode gets a showcase

The first proper gameplay footage for Splatoon 3 showcased a military-style story featuring boss salmons, ugly slugs, and some type of Capture the Flag mini-game.

It’s Salmon Run: Next Wave – the co-op mode of Splatoon 3, coming Winter 2022 (Southern Hemisphere).

FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake is coming

This remake of Square Enix’s tactical mech game Front Mission is launching in Winter (Southern Hemisphere) and will be followed by a remaster of the sequel later.

Disney is going Mario Kart

Disney: Speedstorm is a new free-to-play racing game featuring characters from every major Disney franchise.

It’s coming in Winter (Southern Hemisphere).

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is coming to Nintendo Switch

The classic Star Wars action game, where you play as an apprentice of Darth Vader, is coming on 20 April 2022.

Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection is coming to Nintendo Switch

Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection, which features Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations, is coming on 17 February 2022.

SD Gundam Battle Alliance is also coming to Switch

This chibi robo battler, which features online co-op multiplayer battles, is coming in 2022.

Chrono Cross is getting a remaster on Switch

Call Chrono Cross: the Radical Dreamers Edition, A number of improvements have been made here, including to the game’s soundtrack. Radical Dreamers, which originally appeared on the Satellaview, is also included in this remaster.

It’s coming 7 April 2022.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land got a new trailer

The new trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land showed off ‘mouthful mode’, which allows Kirby to change his shape in weird ways. It also showed off new ability upgrades and crafting.

The game is coming on 25 March 2022.

MLB The Show 22 is coming to Switch

It’s the first time the franchise will be available on the console.

It’s coming 5 April 2022.

Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series is coming to Switch

The Klonoa franchise is coming to Nintendo Switch on 8 July 2022.

This collection includes Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil.

Prior to the Klonoa announcement, the Kingdom Hearts games on Switch also got a showcase – but given these titles won’t arrive in Australia, there’s no reason to get too excited.

Read: Why Australia doesn’t get Nintendo Switch cloud games

Portal 1 + 2 are being ported to Switch

Both games are coming in the Portal: Companion Collection, launching sometime in 2022.

Live a Live is making its overseas debut on Switch

Live a Live is a classic JRPG featuring multiple stories and protagonists that was never release outside Japan, and it’s finally landing in overseas markets this year.

It launches on Nintendo Switch on 22 July 2022.

Wii Sports is getting a sequel: Nintendo Switch Sports

Nintendo Switch Sports includes tennis, bowling, and chambara – a swordfighting game where you knock opponents off platforms. It also includes new games like soccer, badminton and volleyball. Players can play together in local co-op or online, and there’s even matchmaking as you level up.

New volleyball gameplay was demonstrated during the Nintendo Direct, and while it looks a bit silly, it also looks very, very fun.

Golf will be added in Spring (Southern Hemisphere), and there’ll also be play tests before launch.

The game arrives on Nintendo Switch 29 April 2022.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is coming to Switch

The iconic rhythm game will be arriving on Nintendo Switch, with a Zelda theme, this year.

No specific date was announced.

Triangle Strategy got another showcase

A new Triangle Strategy trailer hyped up the game’s drama, and announced a new playable demo on the way.

The game launches on 4 March 2022.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is coming to Switch

The DLC for the gorgeous (and challenging) 2D side-scroller Cuphead is coming to Switch on 30 June 2022.

Metroid Dread is getting a free difficulty update

The Dread Mode (Harder) and Rookie Mode (Easier) for Metroid Dread will launch today. There’ll also be a boss rush mode coming in April 2022.

Earthbound (Mother) is coming to Nintendo Switch

Classic games Earthbound and Earthbound: Beginnings will land on Nintendo Switch Online later today.

A flash showcase showed off a bunch of new titles coming

A flash reel included the Demon Slayer game (coming June 10 2022), GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon (available later today) Zombie Army 4 (coming 26 April 2022), Lego Brawls (landing June 2022), and Two Point Campus (arriving 17 May 2022).

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting new courses

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting fresh DLC content! The Booster Course Pass will include 48 new courses to be released between now and the end of 2023. The new content includes courses from Mario Kart Tour and other classic Mario Kart titles of the past.

The first pack of 8 courses – which includes the N64’s Choco Mountain, the Wii’s Coconut Mall and Mario Kart Tour‘s Tokyo Blur, drops on 18 March 2022.

The Booster Course Pass, which includes all six waves (48 courses), will cost US $24.99 (AU $34.80).

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers will get the new pack as part of their membership.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is officially announced

The final trailer featured a man playing a flute, a dramatic voiceover, and huge, post-apocalyptic battles.

Hey, it’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3!

It’s coming in September 2022.

That’s where the show ended, leaving a lot of excitement in its wake. It’s clear Nintendo has big plans for the future – and a brilliant-looking 2022 ahead.