Nintendo held its long-awaited Nintendo Direct discussing nothing but the Switch 2 on Wednesday, April 2nd. They covered everything from specs to new games to third-party games to game sharing and even gave us a release date of June 5th.
You can watch the whole thing on YouTube here, but we've covered our six favorite announcements that came up in Nintendo's presentation.
Mario Kart World
We all knew some form of Mario Kart 9 would be announced in this Nintendo Direct, and Mario Kart World gave us more than we bargained for.
Because it has 24 racers in a race, the largest amount in the game's history. And it's also... open world? They didn't reveal too much about that aspect of it, but I can't tell you the amount of times I hopped into time trials on Mario Kart 64 and followed the train around Kalamari Desert when I was six has that six-year-old me very excited.
There's also a Mario Kart Direct slated for April 17 that will give us a deeper look at this launch day title (that's also included in one of the Switch 2 bundles!).
All of the third-party games announced
So many third-party games were announced. They started with Elden Ring, which got a laugh out of me (can you imagine trying to play Elden Ring on an original Switch?) and range anywhere from Cyberpunk 2077 to Civilization VII to Split Fiction to Hogwarts Legacy.
And those are just the ones coming on launch day (minus Elden Ring). Other games we were treated to that come out sometime in 2025 include Borderlands 4, Star Wars Outlaws, Tony Hawk's Pro-Skate 3 + 4, and Witchbrook.
And, of course, our six-second look at Hollow Knight: Silksong gets its own little paragraph. It was nothing to go on, nothing we haven't seen before, but confirmation that this long-awaited sequel will be out sometime in 2025 has us happier than we've been in a long time...assuming that release date stays firm.
GameChat
Listen. It's not a new concept for video games, but it's a new concept for Nintendo. Being able to live chat with your friends through the console is a big addition. You can chat with up to 12 friends at a time, and you don't even need to be playing the same games! That mysterious C button on the joycon is a lot more than we thought it would be.
They did come out and say that you will need an active Nintendo Switch Online membership to use this feature; however, they did also say it will be free to everyone until March 31, 2026.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a new Donkey Kong game and not a remake or remaster of one that's already been released. Donkey Kong Bananza is a platformer that gives us a revamped look at DK (with pants!) and looks like it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun with plenty of exploration, smashing, and climbing.
Donkey Kong Bananza releases on July 17.
FromSoftware has a Switch 2 exclusive
You may have heard my jaw hit the floor when FromSoftware's name came up towards the end of the Direct with a Switch 2 exclusive that looks like a spiritual successor to Bloodborne.
The Duskbloods lets you play as a "Bloodsworn," which is a group that's gone beyond humanity thanks to special blood. You enter a violent battle to become the "First Blood." It's a PvPvE, so it feels like it's closer to the upcoming Nightreign than Bloodborne, but it's still cool to see FromSoftware giving a Switch 2 exclusive.
GameCube coming to Nintendo Switch Online
It's been rumored for a while, but now it's official: GameCube games are coming to your Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions! And there's a GameCube controller you can buy to play the games, too.
So what games will we be able to play when it launches? The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soulcalibur II. Maybe I'll actually manage to finish Wind Waker this time around.