Nintendo Monthly Roundup - June 2026
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News•July 1, 2026•20 min read

Nintendo Monthly Roundup - June 2026

Rounding up all the biggest news and happenings from a jampacked month of showcases and announcements as we enter the back half of 2026.

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The month of June has come to a close, and with it, we close the book on a fairly exciting summer showcase season. I'll admit, this year's Summer Game Fest and everything around it was the closest this time of year has felt to E3 since its demise, probably in large part thanks to the 4 major showcases all occurring within a week of each other, but also because of the sheer quantity of exciting games announced and showcased.

Just to name a few: Resident Evil Veronica, Persona 6, Rayman Legends Retold, Alien Isolation 2, God of War Laufey (shoutout my homie Frank the Cube), Gears of War E-Day, Spyro A Realm Beyond (heck yes), Kingdom Hearts IV (HECK YES) and Final Fantasy VII Revelation were all either revealed or showcased in the span of a week early in the month. It also certainly helps that many of the biggest titles announced are Nintendo Switch 2 bound, which feels really cool and admittedly kind of surreal. Like, the idea of FFVII Revelation and Kingdom Hearts IV coming day and date to Nintendo kinda blows my mind.

And that's before we even get into Nintendo themselves, who had themselves a decently eventful month of their own. Of course, it was all headlined by the June 2026 Nintendo Direct, which, while it wasn't my favorite Direct, still had some gobsmackers in store (see: the aforementioned Kingdom Hearts IV), and really showcased Nintendo's arguably stronger than ever third party relations.

It was also a month of N64 nostalgia, with a handful of big announcements and releases relating to that era all coinciding within the month of June. Additionally, we're now getting two Nintendo Music drops a week thanks to something that happened this month as well.

There's a lot to cover in this first ever Nintendo Monthly Roundup, so let's dive right into it.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The June 2026 Nintendo Direct was a bit lighter on first party news than I had hoped, at least in terms of stuff that really excites me, personally. That being said, there's still a decent amount to dig into from the Direct.

Kicking things off, the Direct saw three new first party games announced:

I am simultaneously surprised and not surprised by this game's existence. I'm not surprised they're doing a Switch Sports sequel, and I'm not even that surprised it's using the same 'Resort' subtitle as Wii Sports' follow up. What does surprise me is the return of Wuhu Island, though it is a welcome surprise.

I do enjoy Switch Sports, but there's not much reason to play it for long. That's something this game will need to address if it wants my attention for more than a week after launch. It's good to see that there's 12 sports total, but the specific lineup does give me slight pause, mainly because like, half of the roster is sports from Switch Sports that look practically unchanged here. Also, the choice to include Tennis and Volleyball confuses me, as I would've much preferred to see Chambara/Swordfighting back, with that being one of THE sports in Wii Sports Resort. Weird that it's not here. Also, some of the new additions, like Thumb Wrestling, as silly as it is, I just don't find the most exciting. Skateboarding looks like a fun use of mouse controls, though, and it's great to see Table Tennis, Archery, Boxing, and especially the Island Flyover (now called Prop Plane) returning.

I'm approaching this one with cautious optimism. It has to prove to me that it can offer more than its predecessor did. We shall see in due time.

Also bring the full body bird skin from Switch Sports back, that was my favorite part of that game.

I wish this announcement did more for me, as I've loved everything I've played of the Xenoblade games. Chronicles 3 in particular had one of the most engaging and fascinating worlds I've ever encountered in a video game, but ultimately, I just don't have the time needed to dedicate to these massive RPGs these days.

Still, it's great to see the series continuing to receive support. These are such finely crafted RPGs with some of the best stories and characters you'll find in the genre. It does feel strange to see this one drop the 'Chronicles' subtitle, but this game seems to be the start of a new saga for the series, so it makes sense to differentiate it from the other games in that way.

Not sure if I'll be picking this one up when it launches next year, simply cause I almost certainly won't finish it, but still a solid addition to the upcoming release calendar.

Alright, this is the big one. Sadly, this one leaked months in advance, robbing us of a legendary surprise. That doesn't take away from how big of a deal this is.

In case you somehow weren't aware, Ocarina of Time is among the best, most beloved, and most impactful video games of all time. I played it for the first time a decade ago on Wii U Virtual Console, and frankly, it blew me away. There's a reason it is consistently referred to as one of, if not THE greatest game of all time.

I've held the belief for a bit now that if any game deserves the 'reimagining' treatment, its Ocarina of Time. And we don't yet know if that's what this is, but I'm holding on to hope that this is more than a simple remake, but a full-blown modern reimagining, as if Ocarina of Time were made today, just like the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy and the Resident Evil remakes.

Unfortunately, the trailer was disappointingly light on details, which especially stung since we already basically knew the game existed. All we really got was a glimpse of Young Link, and a 2026 release year. I'm personally thinking that'll be December 2026, to stay out of the way of GTA VI. Nintendo of all companies could probably get away with launching Zelda right next to GTA, but I see them staying out of the way to be safe.

Regardless, I hope and partially expect this game to be a real showcase for the Switch 2's power, with stunning visuals unmatched by any prior Nintendo game. I also expect them to market it right alongside the upcoming live action Zelda movie, which we should probably be hearing from within the next few months believe it or not. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long to see more.

So, those were the headliners, but there was quite a bit more first party news sprinkled throughout the Direct.

That should do it for the Direct's first party content, but really, this was a Direct owned by the third parties. Here's a quick run down of some of the biggest third-party announcements:

Whew. That was a lot to cover. While this Direct overall may not have been the most exciting for me, I can't deny it was packed with content.

It wasn't the only Direct of the month, however, as we also received the aforementioned Splatoon Raiders Direct at the tailend of the month, on June 30th. It was a simple 15 minute presentation offering a deeper glimpse into what to expect from the game, which is looking very promising as a big fan of Splatoon's single player modes. I'm not gonna go over everything, as they covered a lot of ground, but if you're curious about the game and haven't watched the presentation yet, I recommend checking it out.

RELEASES

Okay phew. That does it for the major Nintendo news from the month. There's probably more I could've covered, but I've already yapped enough. Let's instead talk about what you could actually play this month, starting with:

The big release of the month, Star Fox (2026) serves as a full modern remake of Star Fox 64, as well as, in my eyes, a complete reboot of the franchise. I mean, come on, between the back to basics approach, the brand new art style and voice cast, and the basic title, this feels like an attempt at giving the franchise a fresh start, which, in my opinion, is exactly what it needed.

Star Fox is a franchise that has been sadly pretty stagnant since the N64 entry. Any attempts they made to try to push the series forwards, whether it be Adventures being something completely different (probably because it wasn't originally a Star Fox game), or Zero's controversial GamePad centric control scheme, simply haven't managed to make the kind of impact that 64 did.

So, after 10 years of waiting following Zero's release, the series has finally been given another shot on Switch 2. I totally understand why many were disappointed that this game ended up being yet another retelling of Star Fox 64, but honestly, I do think it was a smart move. Nothing else the franchise has done has seemed to stick, and 64 is still heralded as the gold standard, so, what better way to revitalize the franchise after a long absence and bring in new fans by going back to basics and focusing on what they already know works by creating a definitive, modern remake with gorgeous visuals and a cinematic flair that feels kinda strange for a first party Nintendo game, but certainly not in a bad way.

I think it especially makes sense given Fox was recently exposed to a mass audience thanks to his appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Following that up with a high-quality game starring the character just 2 months later is really smart.

The way everything was set up, I think this is legitimately the best chance Star Fox has had of not just being revived, but sticking around, similar to the resurgence that the Metroid franchise experienced during the Switch era. It certainly helps that the game is really good. It was the first time I've actually sat down and played through a Star Fox game, and I really enjoyed it.

I'll likely give the game a full review on this blog at some point, but here, I just wanted to give my surface level thoughts on the game.

When I mentioned this was a month full of N64 nostalgia, I was referring to the OOT announcement, the release of Star Fox, and this. Donkey Kong 64, the... ahem, somewhat infamous collectathon 3D platformer from Rare, finally arrived on N64: Nintendo Classics early in the month.

What's funny about this release from a personal standpoint is that, back when Nintendo was first rolling out the classic games offerings with Nintendo Switch Online, I vividly remember picturing myself playing Donkey Kong 64 on Switch, for some reason. I think I may have been playing it on Wii U Virtual Console at the time, and was fantasizing about playing it on the go (which, let's be real, this is a game that would probably hugely benefit from being on a handheld thanks to its frankly unreasonable amount of collectables). Kinda neat to finally see that desire fulfilled.

Not sure if or when I'd get around to playing it, but I'm glad it's here. This leaves Super Smash Bros 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and Conker's Bad Fur Day as the only really noteworthy titles that I personally can think of that haven't made it to the N64 library yet. Though, let's be real, there's probably something I'm forgetting.

Nintendo dropped two free eShop demos for upcoming games this past month. The Star Fox demo dropped after the Nintendo Direct, and while I immediately downloaded it, I didn't end up getting around to trying it before the full game was released, so I don't have anything to say on it.

Towards the end of the month, we got the Rhythm Heaven Groove: Starter Demo, which gave access to the first five stages of Solo Mode, and some of the multiplayer. I've always been interested in Rhythm Heaven, having been sure to snag both Fever and Megamix off the Wii U and 3DS eShops respectively before they shut down, but this was my first time actually playing it, and it's really fun. Definitely give it a try if you're curious.

NINTENDO MUSIC

June 2026 was a pretty awesome month for Nintendo Music. It kicked off with perhaps one of the most highly requested soundtracks, that being Mario Kart World, finally arriving. Alongside it came the promise of regular additions of the game's free roam remixes, only containing the Super Mario Kart remixes at first. This ended up resulting in a two-drops-per-week schedule, with new free roam tracks on Monday, and everything else on Thursday. Not only that, but Mario Kart World was one of two Nintendo Switch 2 soundtracks to drop on the service this month, and the World soundtrack came alongside an update that brought some nice new features, such as Desktop and CarPlay support.

Here's a quick run-down of everything that happened on Nintendo Music this month:

Definitely one of the busier months in the service's history, perhaps even the busiest.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS AND LOOKING AHEAD TO JULY

That about does it for the big stuff, but there were a couple smaller things from throughout the month. To celebrate the 1st anniversary of Mario Kart World, there was an online event held that ran from the 4th to the 11th. It wasn't anything special, simply challenging you to raise your VR in the event as high as possible, but it, alongside the soundtrack's arrival on Nintendo Music, was part of why I started playing the game again and rediscovered how fun it was. There was also a fun bonus on the day of the Direct for Alarmo owners like myself, as Donkey Kong Bananza themed alarms were added to the ever expanding lineup. As someone who still uses it as my primary alarm clock every morning, I appreciate that they are continuing to support it, and hope we eventually get Mario Kart World on there. Waking up to Rainbow Road would be pure bliss.

That should do it for June 2026 though. Apologies that this was a bit of a long one, in the future they probably won't be nearly as lengthy as I will have covered the news as it happened throughout the month. It just happens that I started writing articles for this blog right at the end of June. Also, not every month is going to have a major Nintendo Direct to recap, so that alone will cut down on the length.

All that said, it's time to turn our attention to July, a month that typically seems to have some big stuff before we hit a bit of a lull in the release calendar until things ramp up again preceding the holiday season. I'm thinking back to years past when we got titles like Splatoon 2, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Paper Mario The Origami King, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pikmin 4, and, most recently, Donkey Kong Bananza in July. This coming July seems to follow that trend, being bookended by a pair of first party Nintendo releases: Rhythm Heaven Groove for Nintendo Switch and Splatoon Raiders for Nintendo Switch 2, both titles I'm very excited for.

Those are the things we know for sure right now, but there's also a handful of things I think might happen that I'll be watching for.

Firstly, regarding Splatoon Raiders, we'll almost certainly get an Overview Trailer as we get closer to launch, as pretty much every Nintendo game does. Whether this will give us any new insights on the game, we'll have to wait and see. I also think Raiders will follow the 'Special Release' trend on Nintendo Music, with a handful of tracks from the game arriving on the service the evening before the game launches.

Speaking of Nintendo Music, I think we will see Donkey Kong Bananza this month. We've been seeing more and more Switch 2 game soundtracks on the app lately, with Mario Kart World and Age of Imprisonment in June, and with July marking the one year anniversary of Bananza, I think dropping the full soundtrack makes a ton of sense.

Regarding Nintendo Classics, I think we're due for a GameCube game this month, as we haven't gotten one since Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness back in March. There are still two titles from the initial announcement that have yet to arrive, those being Super Mario Sunshine (somehow), and Pokemon Colosseum. I think it's time for Mario Sunshine to finally arrive. We're in the midst of Summer, and the game feels overdue to arrive in the lineup (we really got Wario World first), so I think it finally shows up this month. Of course, I say this now, only for Nintendo to give us freaking Odama or something completely out of nowhere.

Finally, while I don't anticipate any kind of Nintendo Directs this month, I do think the time is right for an Indie World. The last one we got was back in March, so it very much feels like we could get one in the next month or so. Perhaps we could see stuff like the Hollow Knight Silksong DLC emerge, or maybe we could finally see Expedition 33 come over, though I feel that would be better suited for a proper Direct. Not that I'd be opposed to it, I really want that game on Switch 2.

And, that should just about do it for this month's monthly roundup! I hope to do one of these at the end of every month going forwards as a fun way to look back at everything that happened in a given month, as well as looking ahead to the next month of news and releases. Again, hopefully these won't be as long going forwards, but I also love yappin', so, maybe they'll end up longer, we'll see!

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