Nintendo Switch 2 Direct: Follow Along With ScreenRant!

10:07AM, Ben - As far as games go, the biggest reveals of the Direct were Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and FromSoft's The Duskbloods, along with the full trailer for Mario Kart World. The console got some major news with details on social features, Switch 2 editions of Switch games, GameCube on Switch Online, and a release date of June 5. It's not quite the long sequence of home runs that the original Switch's event was, but there's a lot to look forward to. Thanks for following along!

10:03AM, Ben - And that's the stream! No price for the system, although that might show up when the editions appear on Nintendo's website later today.

10:02AM, Ben - Switch 2 will come in two packages at launch, a standard console release and a bundle with a digital version of Mario Kart World.

9:59AM, Ben - One last game reveal - a big Donkey Kong platformer.

9:51AM, Ben - Stream is back. Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 launch window popped up there. No date, but it's something to hold on to.

9:49AM, Ben - The stream froze, which isn't great. And then started showing Civ 7 again. Audio is moving forward without video, which could make upcoming reveals messy.Cyberpunk 2077 and FF7 Remake Retrograde getting dropped in this mess.

9:46AM, Ben - And we're back to third-parties. Deltarune,Borderlands 4, and Sid Meier's Civilization 7 on their way to Switch 2.

9:45AM, Ben - A bit underwhelmed by the Switch 2 GameCube library so far. Wind Waker is great, obviously, although it seems like bad news for the remasters. I share Screen Rant gaming editor Kyle's disappointment in the absence of Animal Crossing, though, not to mention a huge lineup of other classics.

9:38AM, Ben - The third-party storm has settled after adding a couple of EA Sports games, Hogwarts Legacy, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, Hitman: World of Assassination, a tease for the IO Interactive Project 007 James Bond game, Bravely Default remaster, and Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut.

9:32AM, Ben- We're seeing third-party games now. Elden Ring, Hades 2, Street Fighter 6,Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, Split Fiction...

9:31AM, Ben - Drag x Drive is a new game that will make use of the mouse controls for Rocket League-style wheelchair basketball.

9:29AM, Ben - Upcoming titles Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A have confirmed Switch 2 editions. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is also joining the party.

9:25AM, Ben - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is the official name for upgraded Switch 2 versions of Switch games. Mario Party Jamboree gets a new mode with a paid upgrade, and Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are getting the performance boosts that everyone's been asking for. I'm absolutely happy to play my favorite game of all time (BOTW) in a higher resolution, but I hope paid upgrades aren't the standard across the board.

9:23AM, Ben - June 5 isn't a long wait at all. Like the original Switch, it's roughly a couple of months between the big reveal stream and the launch.

9:19AM, Ben - The Direct is now showing off a game called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a collection of mini-games and tech demos that would look fresher if Astro's Playroom didn't exist. The bigger problem: it's not free? Odd choice.

9:16AM, Ben - We're getting a lot of hardware details — 120Hz LCD screen with HDR, 3D Audio, Joy-Con mouse function, 4K output in TV mode, 3D audio — it's all coming very fast.

9:14AM, Ben - Finally, DS Download Play is back in the form of GameShare. Very fulfilling moment for me.

9:06AM, Ben - I kept wondering how Mario Kart would top 8 Deluxe, but the off-road concept might just do it for me. That's a huge shake-up. It's also launching the same day as the Switch 2, so hopefully we get that date before the Direct is over.

9:00AM, Ben - And we're live with the Direct! Looks like we're starting with Mario Kart, which is no surprise.

8:18AM, Ben - We're tuning in for the Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2, which promises an hour-long look at the upcoming console starting soon at 9am ET. Surely we're getting a release date and price, right? Finally? Watch along with the video below, and check-in for updates as I live-blog all the highlights and commentary.