Nintendo announces new Zelda, Fire Emblem and Pikmin games

This morning’s Nintendo Direct was full of upcoming game announcements, but one in particular stood out to fans: the long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is coming to the Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023. The new game will be called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Breath of the Wild, released alongside the debut of the Switch in March 2017, is one of the console’s best-selling games to date, selling over 28 million copies. The long-awaited sequel was expected to come out this year, but the release date was pushed back after series producer Eiji Aonuma said that the team needed more time to “make this game’s experience something special.”

Nintendo Direct usually streams on a variety of international Nintendo YouTube channels, but the company’s U.K. channel did not stream today. According to the Nintendo U.K. Twitter account, the division chose not to livestream out of respect for the national period of mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. After rumors circulated suggesting that the Nintendo Direct stream was delayed after the Queen’s passing, the title reveal of “Tears of the Kingdom” feels a bit on the nose.

Other headline moments of today’s stream include new installments for franchises like Fire Emblem, Pikmin and Mario. Fire Emblem Engage will come to the Nintendo Switch on January 20, while a new Pikmin game will debut on the Switch next year as well. Nintendo has already been playing around with the Pikmin IP, releasing the AR mobile game Pikmin Bloom last year with Niantic, the makers of Pokémon GO. In the land of our favorite Italian plumbers, new courses will soon arrive in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, while Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will be released on October 20 this year.

For the nostalgic gamers among us, the announcement of new Nintendo 64 games coming to Nintendo Online is especially exciting. Over the next year, we’ll be able to play games like the first three Mario Party games, GoldenEye 007 and Pokémon Stadium 1 + 2. Sure, new Breath of the Wild is cool, but have you played the Chansey egg game from Pokémon Stadium?