Nintendo will sneak into Summer Game fest with a new Direct

Summer Games left the back door open

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Rumors of a Nintendo Direct in late June are true, TRG sources can corroborate.

While Nintendo was a no-show atSummer Games Festproper, a Nintendo Direct later this month would still let Nintendo slip in the back door to the gaming party. With massive announcements at Summer Games Fest around known quantities likeStarfieldandDiablo 4, and then new surprises likeMinecraft Legends, Nintendo has its work cut out for it with a new Nintendo Direct.

In the company’s last Nintendo Direct back in February, Nintendo showed off a cornucopia of updates, including new tracks forMarioKart 8 Deluxe, a brand new entry in the Fire Emblem series in the form ofFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and the announcement ofXenoblade Chronicles 3. Remasters of classics like Chrono Cross and the early Front Mission games were more under-the-radar slam dunks that rounded out an impressive Direct lineup.

But most importantly, what are we going to see at the next Nintendo Direct? Letsslip on a Power Glove, place our hands on my questionably-accurate crystal ball, and peer in for a hopeful look.

There’s no way we can avoidBreath of the Wild 2swirling up from the mists of our crystal ball. Everyone is hungry for more information, so it would be lovely to get a deeper glimpse into gameplay changes, story, or even a more specific release date beyond the vague ‘spring 2023’ that we have to work with now. Link and the crew are a quieter bunch than Mario, but they’re part of the powerful first-party scaffolding that keeps Nintendo on firm ground.

Deep down in the depths of both our hearts, and hidden behind a few other things in the oracle ball, is the possibility ofMetroid Prime 4showing up. News about the latest mainline adventure of Samus would be a massive reveal for Nintendo. We’ve had nothing but tumbleweeds since we found out in 2019 that Metroid Prime 4 was being scrapped and restarted with the assistance of Retro Studios. That’s a long time to wait for a glimpse, and I’m willing to bet that the latest Metroid will get some screen time at last.

And then just to hedge my oracular bets, I’m going to put my prognosticating credentials on the line and say that it’s a lock we’ll see Xenoblade Chronicles 3. With a July release, there’s no way Nintendo doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to show us more of the latest entry in the sci-fi JRPG series. Another trailer would make the most sense here, given how close to release we are now, especially if it shows off more of the gameplay, given that the co-op play can shine with the new party size of up to seven.

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But for the moment, all we can do is wait, and daydream about an imminent visit from some of Nintendo’s gaming luminaries.

Sarah (She/Her) is a contributor and former Senior Writer for TechRadar Gaming. With six years of experience writing freelance for publications like PC Gamer, she’s covered every genre imaginable and probably a few she made up. She has a passion for diversity and the way different genres can be sandboxes for creativity and emergent storytelling, and loves worldbuilding. With thousands of hours in League of Legends, Overwatch, Minecraft, and countless survival, strategy, roguelike, and RPG entries, she still finds time for offline hobbies like tabletop RPGs, wargaming, miniatures painting, and hockey.

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