Nintendo announced a litany of new games across the Wii U, 3DS, and New 3DS during its latest Nintendo Direct livestream on Thursday. The publisher made 25 separate announcements during the broadcast, most of which related to new and upcoming games across its current slate of platforms. We’ve summarized some of the biggest news here, and you can watch the entire address in the recording above.
Kirby headlined the show with Kirby: Planet Robobot, a new 3DS game where the pink puffball defends Dreamland from mechanical invaders using a set of mechanized robot armor that, like him, can change and adopt the powers of his enemies. The game will also include Team Kirby Clash, a multiplayer co-op mode with an RPG-style progression, including character levels and stats.
Nintendo also announced four new Amiibo tied to the game; Kirby, King DeeDeeDee, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee. Using the four “Kirby line” Amiibo with the game will unlock a special new power. Other, non-Kirby-related Amiibo, such as Mario and Link, will also give Kirby new powers. According to Nintendo, any Amiibo will do “something” in the game. Kirby: Planet Robobot is coming out June 10.
For the Wii U, Nintendo announced that a new entry in the Paper Mario series Paper Mario: Color Splash, would come to Wii U in 2016. Color Splash revolves around restoring the faded color to Prism Island using, you guessed it, his trusty hammer, which is actually a “paint hammer” this time around.
Nintendo also announced Star Fox Guard, a Wii U tie-in game related to the upcoming Wii U sequel, Star Fox Zero. Originally announced at E3 2014 as “Project: Guard,” the game follows Grippy Toad, uncle of Star Fox wingman Slippy, as he defends an outpost from waves of invading enemies using cameras and automated defenses. Players will be able to create their own levels for the game and upload them online. Players who purchase the retail version of Star Fox Zero will get Star Fox Guard for free, but players will also be able to purchase the games separately through the eShop when the games launch April 22.
Nintendo also announced that controversial online multiplayer Metroid spin-off, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, would launch on the 3DS in the spring of 2016. Announced last year, the squad-based shooter drew ire from Metroid fans, who would have preferred a direct sequel. (Some of them even started a petition to get the game cancelled.) During the stream, producer Kensuke Tanabe said the game “absolutely belongs in the Metroid universe,” and assured fans that, while she wouldn’t be a central character, series heroine Samus Aran would make an appearance in the game.
Nintendo also announced a pair of high-profile releases for Japanese gaming fans. Monster Hunter: Generations, released in 2015 as Monster Hunter X in Japan, will come to the Nintendo 3DS this summer. The long-awaited Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei game has a new, distinctive look and feel. Now called Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, the Atlus-developed game will feature the “deep RPG gameplay” of the Shin Megami Tensei series, and a storyline revolving around Japanese pop stars in modern-day Tokyo, and will be available June 24.
In addition to all the new and upcoming games, Nintendo announced new content updates for both Super Mario Maker and Splatoon. The Super Mario Maker update, which goes live March 9, adds a set of new items, including keys and locked doors, allowing players to set up new scenarios such as boss battles. The update also adds a longer “super expert” mode to the 100-Mario challenge mode, which can only be accessed after completing the “expert” challenge, and new mystery mushroom costumes. Splatoon will receive new updates in March and April, including balance changes, improved matchmaking, and new weapon loadout recommendations.
Lastly, in retro game news, the publisher announced it would begin selling select SNES games via the virtual console for the new Nintendo 3DS. The first wave of games, Pilotwings, Super Mario World, and F-Zero, are available right now. Super Mario Kart, Earthbound, and Donkey Kong Country will be available March 24, followed by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest on April 14. Unfortunately, Nintendo will reportedly not offer any sort of “cross-purchase” promotion for players who have purchased these games on the Wii U or other platforms, according to US Gamer editor Jeremy Parrish.
Many of the announced games received only brief overviews during this jam-packed showcase. Expect to hear more about these, and all the other games discussed during this Nintendo Direct, throughout the year.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.