Rumors of a Nintendo Direct in late June are true, TRG sources can corroborate.
While Nintendo didn’t attend the Summer Games Fest, a Nintendo Direct later this month would still let Nintendo in through the gaming party’s back door. With massive Summer Games Fest announcements around known quantities like Starfield and Diablo 4, and then new surprises like Minecraft Legends, Nintendo has its work cut out for this with a new Nintendo Direct.
In the company’s latest Nintendo Direct in February, Nintendo showed off a plethora of updates, including new tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a new entry in the Fire Emblem series in the form of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Remasters of classics like Chrono Cross and early Front Mission games were more slam dunks that rounded out an impressive straight lineup.
But more importantly, what will we see in the next Nintendo Direct? Let’s put on a Power Glove, get our hands on my crystal ball of questionable accuracy, and peek into a hopeful look.
There is no way to prevent Breath of the Wild 2 from emerging from the mists of our crystal ball. Everyone is hungry for more information, so it would be great to get a deeper glimpse into gameplay changes, story, or even a more specific release date beyond the vague ‘spring 2023’ we have to work with right now. Link and the team are a quieter bunch than Mario, but they are part of the mighty original scaffolding that keeps Nintendo on solid ground.
Deep in our hearts, and hidden behind a few other things in the oracle, is the possibility of Metroid Prime 4 appearing. News about Samus’ latest main adventure would be a big reveal for Nintendo. We’ve had nothing but tumbleweeds since we found out in 2019 that Metroid Prime 4 was being scrapped and restarted with the help of Retro Studios. That’s a long time to wait for a glimpse, and I’m willing to bet that the latest Metroid will finally get some screen time.
And so, just to hedge my oracular bets, I’m going to put my prediction credentials on the line and say it’s a lock that we’ll see Xenoblade Chronicles 3. With a July release, there’s no way Nintendo won’t take the opportunity to show us more of the final entry in the sci-fi JRPG series. Another trailer would make more sense here given how close to launch we are now, especially if it shows more of the gameplay as co-op play can shine with the new party size of up to seven.
But for now, all we can do is wait and daydream about an imminent visit from some of Nintendo’s gaming luminaries.
