Nintendo has announced a pair of Nintendo Direct broadcasts for next week, including a dedicated Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary showcase.
The Zelda Direct will air on Tuesday, September 8 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK time, and last 30 minutes. Expect updates on the Zelda franchise, including this year’s Ocarina of Time remake, and perhaps a first proper look at next year’s live-action Legend of Zelda movie.
Nintendo’s next general Direct will then air 24 hours later, on Wednesday, September 9 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK time, and last 45 minutes. This will then be followed by a 110-minute Nintendo Treehouse stream, with further gameplay of titles featured in the Direct.
I strongly expect Nintendo to show off its Ocarina of Time remake in detail, and give fans more of a sense of how the company has updated its N64 classic. Remember, of course, that Nintendo has confirmed it will launch its Ocarina remake this year — and there’s not that much of 2026 left.
With Nintendo keeping to a monthly launch cadence of Switch 2 games so far this year, and Switch Sports Resort already dropping in October, will Zelda launch opposite GTA 6 in November? There’s not long now for us to find out.
What else could we see here? With time also ticking down until Nintendo and Sony’s live-action Zelda movie, now seems the right time to make the rest of the film’s casting official — although much of it has now leaked. Officially, Nintendo has only confirmed Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason as Link and Zelda, though it’s been widely reported that Uli Latukefu will play Ganondorf and Dichen Lachman will play Impa, while Yvonne Strahovski, Lydia Peckham and the late Sam Neil are also part of the cast. I’m expecting a teaser trailer to drop, too.
Finally, keep an eye out for those fancy Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 consoles and Joy-Con. Here’s hoping they don’t cost too many rupees.
Moving onto the main Direct, what might we see here? Upcoming Switch 2 games such as Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (launching September 17) and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (October 22) are safe bets. Beyond those, and Ocarina, Nintendo has not said much of its 2027 slate. Could we get a glimpse of the company’s long-awaited 3D Mario? It’d be lovely to think so, but this is far from assured. Still, I’m expecting to see at least one more Switch 2 title added to its release list for early next year from a smaller Nintendo series, perhaps a new Luigi’s Mansion or 2D Metroid.
As ever, IGN will be reporting on all of the big announcements as they happen — be sure to watch with us next week.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
