The Switch 2 has been out for over a month. Hype levels are starting to run dangerously low. While Donkey Kong Bananza is shaping up to be a big shot in the console’s launch window arm later this week, the rest of the Switch 2’s first year is filled with question marks right now. Fans desperate for new shiny objects just over the horizon need reasons to justify dropping $450 on new hardware. They might finally be in luck. According to reliable leaker NatetheHate, a new Nintendo Direct is coming before the end of July.
“From what I have been told, there is a direct this month,” the YouTube podcaster, who correctly reported the timeframe for the Switch 2’s original showcase, said on his latest episode. “So, the month of July, but that Direct will not take place until after Donkey Kong Bonanza releases.” That game comes out July 17, and with Nintendo often opting for showcases in the middle of the week, we’re left with likely dates of July 22-24 and 29-31.
“Beyond beyond that, I have no additional information. I do not have information as to the exact timing at this point,” NatetheHate continued. “If I had to speculate, I would say probably the last week of July because Friday of that week is August 1st which is Nintendo’s earning report day. So, I could see them having a Direct that week leading to that investors’ report.”
Elsewhere in the episode, the leaker dives into all the reasons fans are getting impatient for the next Switch 2 showcase. Nintendo has a big first-party fall lineup, but not much of it is Switch 2 exclusive at the moment. We still need dates for Metroid Prime 4 (cross-gen) and Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2 only). All of the big third-party ports like Borderlands 4, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy VII Remake are slated for 2025 but haven’t been nailed down either.
According to NatetheHate, Red Dead Redemption 2 is definitely coming to the Switch 2, but it’s unclear if that would get announced in a Nintendo Direct or via a standalone trailer by Rockstar Games. There’s also been a surprising lack of support from Microsoft so far. Gears of War: Reloaded is seemingly feasible on the new hardware, but is currently only announced for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Helldivers 2 is also getting ported to Xbox. While a stretch, that would probably be the biggest Switch 2 surprise of all if it somehow became a reality.
There’s also the mysterious absence of Call of Duty. Microsoft made promises to bring the franchise back to Nintendo platforms as part of its Activision acquisition, and the latter confirmed that both sides were working on something that would be announced in the future. Does that start this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, or in 2026 with the next sequel? Nintendo was reportedly being very precious with Switch 2 devkits during development, so it’s hard to have a good sense of who may have projects in the pipeline already and who is playing catchup.
Finally, there’s the question of Mario. It seems clearer than ever that Donkey Kong Bananza is being made by a portion of the Super Mario Odyssey team but not all of it, freeing up the others, like Nintendo veteran Yoshiaki Koizumi, to work on the next 3D Mario game. It feels like we’re running out of time (and room) for the next one to arrive this fall, but the 2026 spring window could be a decent bet. Nintendo rarely teases things that are more than a year away at this point, but I’m hoping they make an exception in this case. They’ll want to have the next Mario ready for the next Super Mario Bros. movie anyway, and that’s coming in April.
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