Everything announced in Nintendo’s June 2023 Direct

Over 30 games were shown off in Nintendo's June Direct

Oliver Brandt | Jun 22, 2023

Everything announced in Nintendo’s June 2023 Direct /

After a lengthy week of Not-E3 presentations earlier in the month, Nintendo finally showed its hand with a Nintendo Direct, featuring over 30 games, some previously announced, some not. As with any Nintendo Direct, there were some exciting surprises from first- and third-party developers, and some new details about games we’ve known about for quite some time.

The 40-minute-long presentation revealed multiple new Mario games, a bunch of ports from other consoles, and teased at games still to come in the future. Sitting through the whole presentation is fine – we certainly enjoyed doing it – but if you’re strapped for time or just don’t want to dedicate 40 minutes of your life watching video game ads, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s everything that was announced, shown off, and featured in Nintendo’s Not-E3 June Direct, in order of their appearance.

Pokémon DLC

A screenshot from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet showing a boy character holding his fist in the air — Nintendo

We got a better look at the upcoming DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which is coming in two waves: The Teal Mask, due in the Fall, and The Indigo Disk, due in Winter. We didn’t get firm release dates for these, but we did see a few returning Pokémon, and a couple of interesting new characters. More information is due in the future.

Sonic Superstars

We already knew most of the things shown off in this trailer, but it does look like Sonic Superstars is holding up pretty well on the Switch. The Direct says the game will be released in the Fall, which is what Sega says on the official website too.

Palia

Palia is a free-to-play “community sim game”, which basically means you’ll be able to team up with your friends to farm, fish, forage, cook, and build cute little houses together. You can apparently play solo if you like too, but it’s meant to be played with friends. The game is currently in alpha testing on PC, but will get a full release on both PC and Switch sometime towards the end of the year.

Persona 5 Tactica

This Persona 5 tactical RPG spinoff was previously leaked and then subsequently announced during the Xbox presentation. We knew it was likely to come to Switch, but this was a nice little confirmation. Curiously, Persona 3 Reload wasn’t announced, even though it definitely could run on Switch. Maybe in the future.

Mythforce

Mythforce is a first-person melee roguelike game heavily inspired by classic cartoons like Masters of the Universe. It looks alright, and will also come to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC sometime in 2023. The game currently has a demo on Steam if you’re keen on trying it out.

Detective Pikachu Returns

The game that inspired the first live action Pokémon movie is finally getting a sequel, after being announced all the way back in 2020. Detective Pikachu Returns will have the eponymous Detective Pikachu (not voiced by Danny DeVito) teaming up with Tim Goodman to solve mysteries in Ryme City. If we’re being honest, the game doesn’t look visually great, but there’s still some time left for polishing, as it’s not due out until October 6.

Super Mario RPG remake

Yup, the classic SNES game Super Mario RPG is getting fully remade from the ground up for Switch. It’s looking absolutely phenomenal, but we already did a full story about it.

Princess Peach is getting her own game

Princess Peach with her hands folded across her chest while her dress glows — Nintendo

There actually wasn’t much to this announcement. We know Peach, of Mario fame, is getting her own game, and that it’ll be out next year on the Switch. Other than that, all we have is a brief teaser of Peach touching a weird little creature and starting to glow.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

Luigi’s Mansion 2, also known as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, is coming to Switch in 2024. It doesn’t look like a particularly extensive remaster, instead just being upscaled with a few tweaks here and there, but it’s good to see it leaving the 3DS. Hopefully Luigi’s Mansion comes to Switch eventually too.

Batman Arkham Trilogy

Batman flying over the city of Gotham in Batman Arkham Knight — Nintendo

This was rated by a bunch of different ratings boards way back in 2019, but now it’s officially official: the Batman Arkham Trilogy is coming to Switch. It’ll include Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight, the last of which is a pretty tall order considering it did struggle a bit on PS4 and Xbox One. The trilogy is due out in Fall.

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is a turn-based strategy RPG that is adapted from a board game of the same name. The game’s been out on other platforms for a while now, and it’s finally coming to Switch on September 18. It looked pretty rough in the trailer, so hopefully the final product is a little better.

Just Dance 24

It’s Just Dance with different songs, and it’s out October 24.

Silent Hope

Silent Hope is an action RPG with seven playable characters, all of whom have different fighting styles and jobs back on the homestead. There’s procedurally generated dungeons to explore, a cute art style, exciting anime cutscenes, and seemingly plenty to do. It’ll be released on Switch and PC on October 3.

Fae Farm

We saw this in a previous Direct, but the gist of it is that it’s a cutesy farming sim game where everybody is a fairy with wings and magic. It looks neat, and features co-op multiplayer, so it should be pretty interesting when it launches. This is also coming to PC, but it’ll hit Switch on September 8.

Hotwheels Unleashed 2

The last Hotwheels Unleashed game was pretty good, and this one looks to be more of the same. Not a lot of new info was given here, but we did get to see the amazing track editor, so that was nice. It’s set to be released on October 19.

Manic Mechanics

One of the surprises of the Direct, Manic Mechanics is kind of like Overcooked, except you and up to three friends play as mechanics, working in different environments to fix cars. It looks absolutely bonkers, and it’s out pretty soon — July 13.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Multiple monsters in Dragon Quest Monsters getting hit by a tornado attack in an arena — Nintendo

Dragon Quest Treasures was pretty close to being a Dragon Quest Monsters game, but that was just a fake-out — the real DQ Monsters game is here. As with other DQ Monsters games, you’ll need to collect a bunch of monsters, fight against other monsters, defeat an ancient evil, you know the drill. It’s Pokémon with a Dragon Quest twist. It’s due out on December 1.

Pikmin 1, 2, and 4

A character in Pikmin 4 standing next to Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin — Nintendo

Pikmin 1 and 2 got shadowdropped onto the Switch eShop during the presentation, with a physical release due later this year. We also got some new details about Pikmin 4, out next month, including new Donbari Battles and nighttime expeditions with new Glow Pikmin.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1

A screenshot from Metal Gear Solid 3 showing Snake saluting with his eyes shut — Nintendo

The MGS Master Collection, containing the first three games in the MGS series, was announced for Switch, along with a release date for all platforms of October 24. Those buying on Switch will have to free up some space on their SD cards though, as even the physical version of the collection will have a hefty download.

Vampire Survivors

The smash hit indie game that doesn’t feature vampires is making its way to Switch, along with a newly-announced co-op mode. The game will be released on Switch and updated on other platforms on August 17.

Headbangers Rhythm Royale

Imagine if you took Fall Guys, replaced the bean guys with pigeons, then turned it into a rhythm game. That’s what Headbangers Rhythm Royale is. It looks absolutely hilarious, with a bunch of different game modes, silly pigeon costumes, and Rhythm Heaven-style gameplay. It flies onto Switch on October 31 (spooky).

Penny’s Big Breakaway

This is a new 3D platformer developed by Evening Star, which is a studio founded by Christian Whitehead and a few other staff who worked on Sonic Mania. You play a yo-yo-wielding girl called Penny as you jump and swing through levels while fighting off penguins. It looks dope, but we’ll be waiting til early 2024 for it.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - DLC Wave 5

A Wiggler in Mario Kart 8 racing in a formula one car — Nintendo

There’s a new wave of Mario Kart 8 DLC coming, which should surprise nobody. We knew this was coming, and we got a look at a neat new track and a few new playable characters: Wiggler, Kamek, and Petey Piranha. We don’t have an exact release date, but it should be out by the end of Summer.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R

It was rumored and leaked, but it’s finally official: there’s a remake of Star Ocean 2. Subtitled The Second Story R, this remake has a unique art style that’s a little bit like Square Enix’s 2D-HD, but also not really. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty much everything you’d expect from a remake. It will be released on November 2.

Warioware Move it

Nintendo made a sequel to Warioware Smooth Moves, and it looks as bonkers as you’d expect. You use motion controls to complete a bunch of microgames, just like you did on the Wii, except this time with Joy-Con. It’s out the day after the Star Ocean remake, on November 3.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

The final announcement of the show, and the most exciting announcement of them all. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an all-new 2D platformer with a new art style, replacing the New Super Mario Bros. art that’s been in use for almost 20 years. You can play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, and Yoshi, and Mario can turn into an elephant. It’s wild.

Published Jun 22, 2023

OLIVER BRANDT

Oliver Brandt is a writer based in Tasmania, Australia. A marketing and journalism graduate, they have a love for puzzle games, JRPGs, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and any platformer with a double jump.