Yeah, we all knew this was happening, didn’t we? Whether it’s because of the rumours from ‘insiders’ or simple guesswork, just about everyone and their dog expected a Nintendo Direct in this week or the next.

But no one expected what form it’d actually take. Why? Because unlike many rumours online, this isn’t a typical first party focused Direct. There almost certainly won’t be any BoTW 2 updates there, nor any reveals for things like a new Mario Odyssey game or whatever DLC tracks the next Mario Kart 8 Deluxe update will bring.

Instead, it’s a Partner Showcase one focused on third party games. Here’s the announcement about it from Nintendo UK on Twitter:

A new #NintendoDirectMini: Partner Showcase is on the way!

Watch on-demand via our YouTube channel from 2pm (UK time) on 28/06 for roughly 25 minutes of info on upcoming third-party #NintendoSwitch games.

Subscribe now and turn notifications on 🔔: https://t.co/RFBEyTQrBN pic.twitter.com/yEPXmoFuJy

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) June 27, 2022

As well as their counterparts in America and Japan:

A new #NintendoDirectMini: Partner Showcase is on the way! Watch on-demand via our YouTube channel beginning Tuesday, June 28 at 6am PT for roughly 25 minutes of info on upcoming third-party #NintendoSwitch games.

Subscribe & turn on notifications here: https://t.co/SZA1P3RSHS pic.twitter.com/8hmCJ1p5EX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 27, 2022

6月28日（火）22時に、ソフトメーカータイトルの情報をご紹介する「Nintendo Direct mini ソフトメーカーラインナップ 2022.6.28」を公開します。
約25分の映像となります。（※ライブ配信はありません）#NintendoDirectJP https://t.co/zfm00mBIyR

— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) June 27, 2022

So what’s going on? What is Nintendo planning with tomorrow’s presentation, and what sort of games do you think we could see there?

Well to be honest, it’s hard to be sure. For one thing, note that ‘partner’ in this sense doesn’t necessarily mean third party IP. No, titles like Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity and Cadence of Hyrule were also included in presentations like this, despite both being Zelda spinoffs published by Nintendo in at least a couple of regions.

Hence there’s the potential we could see third party made entries in a few actual Nintendo series. We’re not sure what those could be, but who knows? Maybe some third party devs really like the Wario Land or Chibi Robo series and want to see it given another shot. Or perhaps like Mario + Rabbids, some sort of quirky spinoff crossover could be on the hards here too.

And there are quite a few other possibilities for big names as well. There’s speculation Bayonetta 3 could be included, since it’s being developed by PlatinumGames on Nintendo’s behalf. There’s talk of a possible GoldenEye 007 remake or remaster, based on some achievements that have found on Microsoft’s systems. That could come to the Switch too.

Plus there are even rumours Red Dead Redemption 2 could be brought over to the console too. We’re not entirely sure how mind you, but the rumours exist, and the sources for them are pretty credible nonetheless.

So there are some interesting possibilities there, even if Nintendo IP is suspiciously absent.

Either way, if you’re interested, you can a list of times for the presentation in the table below:

And you can find our thoughts on the Direct (and the reveals shown in it) over on the Gaming Reinvented site tomorrow! It’s not exactly what we expected, but it’s gonna be awesome nonetheless!

Source:

Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced for Tomorrow at 2pm (Nintendo UK on Twitter)