The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 release dates are in. During a packed Nintendo Direct on Friday, the company announced release dates for several games, as well as the return of the Virtual Boy, the proto VR headset Nintendo originally launched in the mid-1990s.
One of the biggest announcements on Friday was the release date for Supergiant’s wildly popular sequel to Hades, Hades II , hitting Switch, Switch 2, and PC on September 25th. The Metroid game, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond , will also finally launch on December 4th for Switch and Switch 2.
The news comes ahead of the upcoming holiday season, which will be the Switch 2’s first since its launch this summer.
While Hades II has been available on PC as an early access game — an unfinished version that players can test out and provide feedback on — last year, the version that will change at the end of the month will be the full “1.0” launch game. Players who already own the game on Steam will be able to update theirs for free. The game stars Melinoë, the sister of the original game’s protagonist Zagreus, as he attempts to kill the Titan of Time, Chronos.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sees Samus return, running and battling alien enemies. Along with a solid release date, a trailer released Friday debuted a new tool for the heroine: the vi-o-la, a techy motorcycle Samus can use alongside her psychic abilities.
Nintendo is also expanding some of its games with downloadable content. New DLC for Donkey Kong Banaza , which launched on July 17, is now available for $20. The pack, called DK Island and Emerald Rush, adds additional missions and levels to explore (and, presumably, punch up). Pokémon Legends: ZA , which launches on October 16, will do so alongside the Mega Dimension DLC, which adds additional mega evolutions.
Nintendo also teased a number of 2026 releases, including a surprise announcement of a new Pokémon game, Pokémon Pokédex . As a human-shaped Ditto (as terrifying as it sounds), players befriend other Pokémon, build homes, and gather food to create a tiny paradise. It launches next year for the Switch 2.
Additionally, a new entry in the turn-based tactical series Fire Emblem called Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is headed to Switch 2 in 2026. A trailer released today teases its characters in arena-style combat; a familiar face at the end of the trailer suggests the game is set after 2019’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses. A new Resident Evil game, Resident Evil Requiem, will also be released for Switch 2 on February 27th.
