What is the second half of the Switch 2’s 2026 lineup looking like? According to a new batch of rumors, Nintendo is working on a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and a new Star Fox game in the vein of the older ones. But for folks waiting on a new 3D Mario platformer, well, you’ll have to reportedly keep waiting until 2027.
On March 27, NateTheHate shared these new details about what Nintendo is reportedly planning to release this year on Switch 2 on his podcast. VGC has since corroborated what the fan-favorite Nintendo leaker has claimed, reporting that it has heard similar rumblings from its own sources.
What they’ve heard is that Nintendo is planning to release a new “classic” Star Fox game in the “very near future.” This will arrive not long after Fox McCloud appears in Nintendo and Universal’s upcoming The Super Mario Galaxy movie, launching in April. This will be the first new Star Fox game since Star Fox Zero launched on Wii U in 2016.
“Star Fox is coming back in summer 2026,” said NateTheHate. “We’re getting a new Star Fox game in the very near future. I’ve been told it’s a classic style Star Fox game.” The leaker also claims that “the visuals” are reportedly “very good” and that the new Star Fox game will have online multiplayer, too.
Ocarina of Time remake launching later this year
NateTheHate and VGC also report that the next 3D Mario platformer won’t arrive in 2026. Instead, it will launch on Switch 2 in 2027. That’s a shame, as the last new 3D Mario game was Super Mario Odyssey, which was basically a launch title for the OG Switch and arrived in 2017. So it reportedly will be a decade between that game and the next 3D Mario title.
But there will be a big Nintendo game just in time for the holidays later this year. Nintendo is reportedly going to release a big remake of the Nintendo 64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time later this year to celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary.
“What I can share with you today is that in the second half of 2026, approaching the holidays, we are going to receive an Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2,” said NateTheHate on his podcast.
Kotaku has reached out to Nintendo about all of these plans. If this all turns out to be accurate, the Switch 2 is going to have a solid 2026 even without a new, next-gen-exclusive Mario game.
