Nintendo announces new Mario & Luigi game at June Nintendo Direct

Nearly a decade after the duo’s last adventure

Nintendo

There’s a new Mario & Luigi game in the works, and Nintendo is launching the upcoming Switch game soon. Both of those things are pretty big deals in themselves, considering AlphaDream – the original developer who handled the series – went bankrupt in 2020, and it’s been nine years since the last new Mario & Luigi game.

It’s called Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and Nintendo showed off a first look at the RPG during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. Mario & Luigi Brothership sees the pair head out to Shipshape Island, an appropriate name, considering the location is part island and part ship. What they’re up to on the island is still a mystery, but the announcement trailer teased a little bet about what to expect outside the plot.

Shipshape Island is part of the broader Concordia region, and while the brothers start in a tropical setting, they end up in forests, braving lava-covered plains, spelunking in caves, and talking to flying pigs who insist that they aren’t pigs. AlphaDream might not be involved, but Brothership looks like it still has the series’ quirky personality intact.

Princess Peach and Bowser make an appearance, both apparently enjoying a holiday away from the Mushroom Kingdom. Bros. Attacks are back – combo moves where the duo teams up to unleash special attacks, if you get the timing right – with new platforming puzzles, and a fresh visual direction that blends comic book stylization with a hint of watercolor and what looks like a bit more freedom of movement.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership releases on Nov. 7, 2024, for Nintendo Switch. It wasn't Nintendo's only big announcement, either. There's a new Zelda game where you can actually play as the Hylian princess, and Metroid Prime 4 is alive and well.