While Mario Kart may get the most attention, Nintendo has another critically-acclaimed racing franchise in its roster. But despite positive reviews, the F-Zero series has remained dormant since 2004's Japan-only F-Zero Climax on the Game Boy Advance. Now, 16 years since a new F-Zero game has released, and it looks like an announcement for an F-Zero Switch game may be right around the corner.
Internet sleuths have discovered a private Twitter account with the handle FZeroJP that appears to be associated with an official Nintendo email account. This has led to speculation that Nintendo is preparing to announce a new F-Zero game for the Switch sooner rather than later. The account name is just a bunch of A's, which is identical to the Super Mario 35th anniversary Twitter account that was discovered recently as well. This could lend credibility to this F-Zero Twitter account being legitimate, but it could also be a coordinated hoax, so fans should keep that in mind before getting their hopes up. But if it's real, it's an indication that Nintendo may be planning to host a Nintendo Direct soon.
This isn't the only evidence that Nintendo plans on having a Nintendo Direct some time in the near future. GameStop's database was recently updated with new SKUs, which usually happens before an event like a Nintendo Direct. Nothing official has been announced, however, and Nintendo itself has suggested that it may be focusing on announcements for one game at a time as opposed to doing an entire Direct presentation moving forward. Considering how popular Nintendo Directs are, though, hopefully Nintendo doesn't go that route.
If Nintendo is gearing up to announce a new F-Zero game for the Switch, the question remains as to who the game's developer is. It's possible that it was developed in-house at Nintendo, but it's also possible that the game was developed by one of the company's other studios. One distinct possibility is that the new F-Zero game has been developed by Retro Studios, as it's never been revealed what the company has been working on since Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze shipped for the Wii U back in 2014.
Rumors have persisted over the years that Retro is making a racing game, though many have claimed that the game is a Star Fox-themed racer. Both F-Zero and Star Fox have science-fiction trappings, though, so perhaps that's where the confusion comes from. In any case, Retro was working on something in the years between it launching Tropical Freeze and taking over the development of Metroid Prime 4, so it being behind the rumored F-Zero Switch game would make sense.
Of course, it's also possible that Retro Studios' secret project was something else entirely and a completely different team is making F-Zero. It's also possible that the F-Zero Switch game doesn't exist at all. So until an official announcement is made, fans should take any F-Zero news with a massive grain of salt.
F-Zero is rumored to be in development for the Nintendo Switch.
