Cliff Notes – There is a Nintendo Direct this week but it’s only about one thing
- Nintendo has confirmed a June Direct on June 18 at 2pm BST, lasting 15 minutes, focusing solely on the already announced Donkey Kong Bananza.
- Despite speculation, it is unlikely that major new games, including Red Dead Redemption 2, will be mentioned, as Nintendo has already showcased many titles during the Switch 2 launch.
There is a Nintendo Direct this week but it’s only about one thing
The King of Swing takes the limelight (Nintendo)
Nintendo has not abandoned its usual plans for a June Direct, but there’s no sign this week’s will mention Red Dead Redemption 2 or any other new games.
The beginning of June managed to start with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, Summer Game Fest, a PlayStation State of Play, and the Xbox Games Showcase. Regardless of what you thought of any of them, it was all very reminiscent of the old school E3 expo, just with far less hands-on previews and interviews.
What was missing though, was a Nintendo Direct, which was understandable given the launch of the Switch 2, despite Nintendo normally always having one of its showcases in early or mid-June.
Nintendo has now confirmed there’s going to be one on Wednesday June 18 at 2pm BST, but according to them it will only last 15 minutes and it’s only going to cover one game: the already announced Donkey Kong Bananza.
The June Directs are usually 40+ minute epics, featuring a wide range of first and third party titles, many of which are announced for the first time, but Nintendo did all that with the Switch 2 dedicated Direct in April.
It’s now looking increasingly unlikely that Nintendo will announce any other major new games this year, although, as always with Nintendo, it’s impossible to know for sure. After all, they did announce Splatoon Raiders recently, completely out of the blue, on their Nintendo Today! mobile app.
There’s also the rumour, from the voice actor of John Marston in Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, that there would be some major news this week, which many already interpreted to be a hint at a Nintendo Direct.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
It’s not impossible that Nintendo could also briefly mention other first party games in this week’s Direct, but it would be unusual to share the limelight with something like Red Dead Redemption 2.
Either way, this definitely won’t be the last Direct of the year, as Nintendo has a number of games scheduled for 2025, about which we know very little and which don’t yet have specific release dates.
That includes Metroid Prime 4, Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment, Kirby Air Riders, and Drag X Drive. Those all need to be announced at some point, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Switch 2 Editions of Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby And The Forgotten Land also got an extra marketing push before their release this summer – not to mention Pokémon Legends: Z-A in October.
So, there is an awful lot for Nintendo to talk about before it even gets onto the subject of other new games and what’s out in 2026.
As for Donkey Kong Bananza, we did like what we played in April, but it was a fairly short demo, from what seemed to be an early build, so it was hard to draw any firm conclusions.
What we would certainly hope for from the Direct though, is confirmation of who’s making it. Nintendo has recently got very bad about crediting its developers and there’s currently no clue who’s behind Bananza.
One popular theory is that it’s the same team that usually does the 3D Mario games, so if it is revealed to be them then that has obvious implications for the imminence, or otherwise, of a follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey.
Who is making Donkey Kong Bananza? (Nintendo)
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