Nintendo Partner Showcase February 5, 2026: Information and Reactions

Today marked the release of a new Nintendo Direct and one more day in a strange time for Nintendo. Nintendo Switch 2 has been wildly successful; the initial sales were huge, and it’s definitely poised to keep that momentum going. But it also lacked an unambiguous killer app*: Mario Kart World was fun but heavily criticized, Metroid Prime 4 was painfully average, Pokémon Legends Z-A had the problems of modern Pokémon, and Donkey Kong Bananza was as much of an “underdog” in the discourse as a major Game of the Year candidate can be. January has been weird for them, too, between their bewildering censorship of the episodic superhero game Dispatch and the strange restrictions over exporting content in the upcoming Tomodachi Life. Their list of upcoming games is small, with few poised to be both critical darlings and multi-million sellers. And that’s on top of everything else, like prices rising across the board, tariffs that caused the share price of Nintendo and every other games publisher to tank, and the planet’s economy shifting into serving the concept of AI. We’re on shaky ground, my friends.

* Technically, we haven’t had a must-play launch title since Breath of the Wild on the last Nintendo console. The PS5 and Xbox Series had fairly quiet launch bolstered by last-gen titles. I don’t know if we’re ever liable to see a big, must play launch game again—or, at least, soon. The game problems and censorship stuff are Nintendo-specific, but literally nothing else.

In these times, fans often look to Nintendo Directs as an out or an off-ramp from whatever weird trend the company seems to be on. The appeal of one of these presentations is always big because we’re all excited to see the reveals, but when things feel kinda fallow, a great Direct can be comforting. Of course, it’s a bit unconventional this time, as it’s not a classic “full” show but a Partner Showcase. These presentations—exclusively for the many third party publishers who bolster the Switch’s library—are both crucial for Nintendo’s corporate relationships and somewhat dismissed by fans. Nintendo’s base tends to want Nintendo games first and foremost, and they often take to new announcements over ports. So even before the stream turned on, this had a slightly rougher row to hoe.

Image: Source Gaming. FF7 Rebirth don’t look bad here.

What was here? What was the vanguard? Well, a decent amount of stuff. We’ve got a now-customary selection of ports from games that came out in years past, ports of games yet to come, fully new announcements, a couple fun curveballs, and sports games. Ya gotta have your sports games. Here’s everything.

Announcements:

Orbitals, a co-op game set in a collapsing spaceship, employs stunning Seventies anime-style graphics and various weapon-based puzzles. Much of this information had already been revealed during its announcement at the 2025 Game Awards (which, if you missed, I don’t blame you; so did I), but it features GameShare, including the ability to stream to Nintendo Switch, and will release as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive this summer.
- I hadn’t actively thought about this, but we might as well assume that every GameShare game will stream on Switch 1.
Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, the sequel to acclaimed and under the radar adventure game Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, announced. Like its predecessor, it’s a dark mystery adventure game, with exploration that combines interrogating characters, searching for clues, and diving underwater for evidence. Launches on Nintendo Switch February 19, with pre-orders now available.
Captain Tsubasa II: World Fighters announced, featuring an eye-watering 110 character cast. Releases on Nintendo Switch sometime “this year.”
Tokyo Scramble was announced; it’s a survival horror game with dinosaur-like monsters set in the Tokyo Underground. Defeating each “Zino” involves escaping from them, studying their movement patterns, and laying elaborate traps to dispatch them. Uses GameShare for four player co-op, but what distinguishes it is that each player independently controls one aspect of protagonist Anne’s movement, actions, and camera. Launching as a Switch 2 exclusive February 11, with pre-orders now available.
Valheim, the physics-based Viking survival game which launched in 2021 but is somehow still in early access, announced for Switch 2. Allows up to ten player multiplayer. Releases sometime “this year.”
Hollow Knight – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, which was announced in December, releases for free today! It provides the amenities of the versions on other consoles, like improved frame rates and resolution, though I think you have to actively pick the upgrade.
eFootball Kick-Off!, the latest entry in Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series, announced. It’s not clear whether this will follow up on the castigated eFootball from 2021. Releases on Switch 2 “this summer.”
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, which was announced at the last Partner Showcase in July, takes place in several ages (including the Ages of Safekeeping, Reconstruction, Magic, and Budding). In each one, the central city will change in the NPCs, scenery, and items. Releases on Switch 2 June 18.
SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION announced. Contains the following games: Super Bomberman (1993), Super Bomberman 2 (1994), Super Bomberman 3 (1995), Super Bomberman 4 (1996), and Super Bomberman 5 (1997). This also includes the Famicom versions of the first two games, and it’s the first time 4 and 5 have been released outside Japan. Features a boss rush mode, a dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, and GameShare support. Releases today!

Image: Source Gaming. It’s nice to see Konami dip its toes further into the well of retro collections. Let’s hopefully see it give a bit more attention to that Metal Gear one.

The port of the absolutely mammoth Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which was released in 2024 and had been announced for Switch 2, was formally revealed. Given the positive reception to Final Fantasy VII Remake’s just-released Switch 2 port, this is exciting. Releases June 3, with pre-orders now available.
Pragmata, which was announced for Switch 2 at the 2025 Game Awards five years after its general announcement, got a short overview. As has been shown across numerous previews and trailers that obviously skipped Nintendo for years, it features a curious combination of survival horror, shooter, and puzzle game as you hack enemies in real time battles, as well as a surrogate father-daughter relationship. Releases April 24, day and date with other consoles, with a demo available later today.
Turok: Origins, which was announced at the Game Awards 2024, announced for Switch 2. It features an open world, co-op, and the ability to play in first or third person. Releases “this fall,” which is actually the most concrete release date we have on the game so far.
Kyoto Xanadu, the latest entry in the Xanadu series, was announced. It’s a 2D and 3D action game set in a vast underground beneath Kyoto, which in this world is the capital of Japan. Releases “this summer” for both Switch and Switch 2.
One year after its 2025 release, Digimon Story Time Stranger was announced for Switch and Switch 2. It features a time travel story with “over 450” Digimon to collect. The Switch 2 version features Quality or Performance Mode. Releases July 10, with pre-orders now available.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok, the latest Granblue game, announced. Has a roster of twenty characters, monster summoning, and local and online multiplayer. Releases on Switch 2 July 9.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, which was announced at the last Partner Showcase, was shown off. Few, if any, new details came up. Releases March 13, with a demo available today. Save data can be transferred to the full game.
The latest Arcade Archives 2 release is 1995’s Rave Racer. In addition, the Arcade Archives series will expand with the Console Archives lineup. The first entries are Doraemon (1986), Sonic Wings Special (1996), Cool Borders (1996), Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (1990), “and more.” Cool Borders and Ninja Gaiden will be available today!
Sizzle reel: Scott Pilgrim EX (Switch and Switch 2, March 3), Another Eden Begins (Switch and Switch 2, with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, “summer 2026”), Reanimal (Switch 2, February 13), WWE 2K26 (March 13), Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown (Switch 2, February 18), Disney Dreamlight Valley: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (March 15; the Switch version is, of course, already out), PGA Tour 2K25 (Switch 2, February 6), Culdcept Begins (Switch and Switch 2, with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, July 16), Goat Simulator 3 (Switch 2, April 1), Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (Switch 2, March 18), Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition (Switch 2, May 22).
- Culdcept Begins is notable here because this part was its actual formal announcement.
Resident Evil Requiem, just on the cusp of its February 27 release date, got shown off. The only new announcement was a Leon Kennedy amiibo to go with the Grace amiibo and Resident Evil-themed Pro Controller, but it’s RE9. It’s a huge deal. Pre-orders available now.
In addition, Nintendo reconfirmed the same day releases of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition and Resident Evil Village Gold Edition, which were announced with Requiem. They’ll also be publishing a new Creator’s Voice video featuring the RE9 team.
Bethesda Softworks executive and surprisingly good television producer Todd Howard was on hand for the final announcement: ports of the boring and Dion-filled Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, the delightful immersive sim and Tony Todd-filled Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the exceedingly brown and Sean Bean-filled The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. The first two had been leaked hours earlier.
- Fallout 4 releases as the first mainline Fallout on a Nintendo console February 4, four months after its 2025 launch, with pre-orders now available. Indy releases May 12, also with pre-orders (though its The Order of Giants DLC went unmentioned). Oblivion comes out “this year,” with no pre-orders for you. The main absence here is Starfield, which does look extraordinarily uninteresting but was Bethesda’s main project for the decade.

Videos:

Wolfman’s Soapbox: A few Directs ago, it hit me that we’re sticking with the one canned intro for Nintendo Directs now. That’s perfectly fine. It’s a fun logo. And while I did like the Directs getting their own little animations, I can’t begrudge Nintendo for wanting to keep this simple. Sometimes you gotta sand off the smaller points of friction.

I doubt that this is what Nintendo fans will want or the discourse will “need.” Again, many of these are ports or relatively low profile series. Obviously, being a Partner Showcase means we don’t get to see what major Nintendo games are coming out. But also, in terms of actual announcements, the ones we got were small, niche, and relatively few. Within the show, the main things, the big things, the things that are likely to sell millions of copies, are games that are coming out to other platforms or are on there already. There’s not much to attract someone who hasn’t already bought a Switch 2, and almost nothing for someone who doesn’t have another console. Which is, I guess, the weird irony of Partner Showcases: they’re shows that make the most sense for plugged in fans, they’re really important for highlighting stuff that flies under the radar, but they inherently lack the one thing that makes one of these Directs “win.”

Image: Source Gaming. Indy came out in 2024, launched months ago on PlayStation 5, so the Switch 2 is the only console it’s not on. That makes it less valuable, though I don’t think that’s the most helpful way to approach a good looking port of a good game.

I do think there are a few caveats here. For one thing, some of these ports are really cool; we’re getting Final Fantasy Rebirth in a matter of months, Fallout is coming out extremely soon, Resident Evil Requiem and Indiana Jones are important on their own, and it feels increasingly clear that the windows between game launches and Switch 2 ports are shrinking. Second, the relatively shorter half hour runtime means we can probably get a more sizable show in April or even March, and maybe that can alleviate people’s fears and shake off the bubble of negativity that’s covered the Switch 2 since it was announced. And ultimately, as I’ve gotten older and marginally wiser, I’ve gained a different kind of appreciation for these shows. They’re less exciting, but they’re also important for advertising and supporting the Switch and Switch 2 libraries. Like, take Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse. I thought it seemed alright, if somewhat B-tier as a Japanese mystery adventure game. But then I did research, because I try to be thorough with what’s on here, and that led me down a short Eurogamer and Nintendo Life rabbit hole. Turns out Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is actually kind of a cult classic, one I’d never heard of but which has now concretely joined a list of games to put on my wishlist.

Obviously, that’s a specific experience; most people aren’t doing that kind of multi-part research. They’ll just see a game and have a reaction. But I’ve become more sympathetic to these shows with age, especially the lower tier ones. And that means I need to simply approach them differently. Taken in that way, as more of a general update, I think this worked alright.