Withevery new Nintendo Directcomes a fresh round of rumors, leaks, and of course, predictions. Nintendo’s digital presentations are some of the most popular gaming events of each year as fans are eager to see what the storied Japanese studio does next — and that prompts speculation from both credible andnot-so-credible sources.
So far, quite a few leaks and rumors point to what may be shown. There’s a chance that all — or none — of these things will make an appearance tomorrow. Still, it’s fun to guess what might show up, so here are five announcements that we hope to see at the first Nintendo Direct of this year.
First-party Nintendo titles get release dates
This announcement is a bit of a cheat as it encompasses several games. We don’t have release dates for most of Nintendo’s announced 2022 lineup outside ofKirby and the ForgottenLand.Nintendo Directs provide the Japanese developer and publisher the perfect place to let fans know when they can expect these highly anticipated games.
We suspect thatBayonetta 3and the sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildmight be too far out to get release dates now. Still, it’d be shocking if the presentation passed without Nintendo letting us know the release dates ofAdvance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp—rumored for April 8— andSplatoon3, which wasannounced about a year ago. Following the conclusion of the Direct, we should have a clear idea of Nintendo’s release schedule for the first half of 2022.
Batman: Arkham Collection comes to Switch
Batman: Arkham Collectionfor Nintendo Switch was the first leak that tipped fans off that a new Nintendo Direct was on the way.VGC noticedthat the French retailer WTT listed theBatman: Arkham Collectionearly with a 60 euro price and July 14, 2025 release date. While the price and release date might be placeholders, this leak seems pretty legitimate.
WTT listedThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’sSwitch portbefore its announcement. It’d also make sense for WB Games to get the Batman: Arkham series on more platforms ahead of the launch ofGotham KnightsandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It remains to be seen which games are included and if these ports will run natively or through the cloud.
A new Xenoblade game gets announced
In August 2021, fans spotted an interview where Jenna Coleman, Melia’s voice actress from the originalXenoblade Chronicles, hinted that a new game in the series was coming soon.Fanbyte followed up with a reportclaiming that her statement was true. The article also asserted that the game was nearing the final stages of development and “takes place in the far-flung future with a few returning characters who have long outlived their human counterparts from bothXenoblade ChroniclesandXenoblade Chronicles 2.”
While that report theorized that the game would get announced in 2021, that was not the case. Fanbyte is a reliable source and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused lots of production delays, so it’s entirely possible that a planned reveal was delayed. The next Xenoblade Chronicles is a shoo-in for the February 2022 Nintendo Direct if these reports are accurate.
A new Fire Emblem game will be announced
Another Japanese Nintendo series poised to make a return is Fire Emblem. Over the past year, leakers claimed that two notable Fire Emblem games are in the works. In May 2021,leaker Zippo saidthat a follow-up toFire Emblem: Three Housesis in development at Koei Tecmo and that Intelligent Systems is developing a remake of the Japan-only Super Famicom Fire Emblem gameGenealogy of the Holy War.
More leakersbacked these rumors up in 2022. Leaks aside, the timing also feels right for a Fire Emblem game as no mainline or spinoff games have been released since 2019. If at least two new Fire Emblem games are in the works, it would make sense for Nintendo to show at least one of them during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is re-revealed
The highly anticipated sequel to the indie MetroidvaniaHollow Knighthas beenMIA since June 2019as developer Team Cherry has continued to craft and refine the game.Silksongis a title that fans have wanted to appear at every Nintendo presentation for the past two years. While somewhat unlikely, there is a more credible reason than ever to believe thatHollow Knight: Silksongcould show up in the next Nintendo Direct.
Last summer, aleak from Nvidia’s GeForce Now servicerevealed several unannounced games and potential release dates for several titles.Hollow Knight: Silksongwas one of these titles. The Nvidia leak lists Team Cherry’s latest with a release date ofFebruary 1, 2022. While that date has come and gone, it is suspiciously close to this Nintendo Direct.
If Team Cherry once intended forHollow Knight: Silksongto potentially release in February 2022, the game might finally be ready for a re-reveal and possible release date announcement. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the game will launch this month, but the Nvidia leak has been proven accurateby many revealsand leakers, so there’s a good chance we seeHollow Knight: Silksongagain soon.
And even if we don’t, just sit back and prepare to enjoy whatever Nintendo actually has in store for us!
