Nintendo fans should have a new Nintendo Direct presentation to watch in the relatively near future, if past years are any indication. Nintendo's innovative Nintendo Direct events have allowed the company to deliver news directly to fans for over a decade, and it's always cause for celebration whenever one rolls around. Nintendo usually does not announce Nintendo Direct events that far in advance, and sometimes even surprise-drops them with no announcement at all, but it has established some patterns that let fans know when they can expect one to take place in a general sense.
For this reason, it's highly likely that the first Nintendo Direct presentation of 2023 will take place in February 2023. Nintendo has hosted Nintendo Direct presentations in January, but these have typically been game-specific presentations. For example, January 2020 saw Nintendo host a Direct presentation focused exclusively on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC, and a 2017 version was focused entirely on Fire Emblem. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that Nintendo will host another game- or franchise-specific Direct presentation in January, but that will be unlikely to satisfy most fans. When people think "Nintendo Direct," they think of the bigger presentations with wider-scopes that feature multiple game announcements.
While there have been some exceptions to the rule, Nintendo often hosts a traditional Nintendo Direct event in February. In 2020 it opted to release a Direct focused on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but 2021 and 2022 both had a focus on Nintendo Switch games releasing in the first half of their respective years. However, Nintendo already has multiple games announced for the first half of 2023, so it's possible a new Direct from the company will be a bit more forward-thinking. Regardless, it would make sense for the Big N to stick with the pattern of hosting a Nintendo Direct in February.
Nintendo Games Releasing in 2023
- Fire Emblem Engage - January 20
- Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe - February 24
- Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon - March 17
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - May 12
Nintendo generally publishes at least one big game per month, and it already has a decent lineup for the first half of 2023. Fire Emblem Engage is launching later this month as the latest entry in the critically-acclaimed strategy game franchise, while February will see the release of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. March has the Bayonetta spin-off game Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon on deck, and May, of course, has The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. At the time of this writing, the only two months in the first half of 2023 that Nintendo does not have a game announced for are April and June, but a Nintendo Direct in February could go a long in filling those gaps.
Nintendo Direct events may be known for big new game announcements, but they are also used to expand on games that have been previously announced as well. Fire Emblem Engage will launch before the potential February Nintendo Direct takes place, but Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom could all benefit from getting the spotlight in a Nintendo Direct presentation.
In fact, Nintendo has been rather aggressively promoting Fire Emblem Engage, releasing numerous videos about the game's features and characters in the weeks leading up to its launch on January 20. The other Nintendo Switch games announced for the first half of 2023 have not received the same treatment, which could be a sign that Nintendo plans on highlighting those in a proper Nintendo Direct presentation instead.
And while Nintendo itself may have a clear lineup of games coming in the first half of 2023, Nintendo Directs don't focus exclusively on first-party Nintendo games. On the contrary, the events often feature third-party announcements as well, and so such an event could also help highlight all the Switch games coming in the first half of 2023 that aren't published by Nintendo.
Nintendo Directs for 2023
Based on the pattern established by Nintendo, it's quite likely Nintendo will host a Nintendo Direct presentation in February. It's also likely that there will be various game-specific Nintendo Direct events throughout the year for the bigger games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the rumored Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC. Fans may also be able to look forward to larger-scale Nintendo Direct events this summer at E3 2023 and at some point in September.
The Nintendo Direct events later in the year may prove to be even more interesting than the one that could take place in February. The second half of 2023 is a big question mark for Nintendo, and so Nintendo Directs taking place later in 2023 could help give fans a much clearer idea of what to expect. We know that Pikmin 4 is in development for Switch and Metroid Prime 4 is in the works as well, but it's unclear if either of those games will launch in 2023. Rumors also persist that a new 2D Super Mario game is being made, while a Metroid Prime remaster has been ready for some time. Nintendo gamers will simply have to tune in to the various Nintendo Direct events of 2023 to find out if there's any truth to the rumors and discover what the Big N has in store for 2023.
