Some recently revealed rumors suggest that a Nintendo Direct will happen next month, with a special claim placing it for February 10th. This would mark the first Nintendo live stream in 2026.
The most recent Nintendo Direct took place on November 12, though it was an outlier by the company's usual standards, as it focused entirely on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. For the last game-focused Direct, one would have to go back to October 23, when Nintendo held an event dedicated to Kirby Air Riders.
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First Nintendo Direct 2026 is rumored for February 10th
The first Nintendo Direct 2026 could take place on February 10, according to a new report from BeeFun. The French leaker has not only committed to a concrete date but even identified the supposed star of the show, claiming that the upcoming event will see Nintendo reveal a new 3D Super Mario game for Switch 2. They have also described the February 10th show as “huge”.
A Nintendo Direct in February is a safe bet
Leaving the specific date aside for a moment, the core claim of this leak – that a Nintendo Direct will happen in February – is a very safe bet. Since Nintendo introduced the live stream event format in late 2011, there has been at least one February straight in 10 of the 14 years that followed. The Japanese gaming giant is also currently on a six-year streak of February Directs, with 2018 being the last exception. Every year since 2012 has had a major Nintendo Direct in either January or February, and in some cases (like 2015 and 2017) there were Directs in both months. Given the historical context, the likelihood of a February 2026 Nintendo Direct seems high, and seems almost guaranteed if no such event occurs before the end of January.
However, it may be too early for a new 3D Mario
While Nintendo may indeed be preparing an announcement or three for next month, the second part of BeeFun's claim seems like a much bigger stretch. It's true that it's been almost a decade since the last 3D Mario game, which came to Switch in the console's first year. However, the studio behind Super Mario Galaxy have recently completed work on Donkey Kong Bananaone of the Switch 2's big launch year exclusives. About a new 3D MarieIf the title is indeed slated for a February 2026 reveal, it will likely have to come from a different team than the one traditionally responsible for the main series. While not impossible, such an approach would be uncharacteristic of Nintendo, which typically keeps the primary development lead for primary entries in its flagship franchises consistently across generations, rather than moving that role to an entirely different studio.
Just as Nintendo Direct rumors surface, New Call of Duty Leak mentions Nintendo
In a separate but possibly related development, references to Nintendo have recently been discovered in the latest version of the Call of Duty HQ. This may signal that a Call of Duty title for Switch 2 is finally on the horizon, more than three years after Microsoft and Nintendo signed a deal to bring the franchise to Nintendo's platforms for at least a decade. That deal, part of Microsoft's effort to appease regulators probing its then-pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, has yet to result in any Call of Duty releasing on Nintendo systems. As of 2026, the latest COD entry available on a Nintendo platform remains Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Ghostswas released for the Wii U in November 2013.
Looking at more likely candidates for a potential appearance in a hypothetical Nintendo Direct on February 10th, the list includes Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark ties, Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Requiem, Reborn animal, Ys X: Proud Nordicand Mario tennis fever. All are scheduled for release between February 12 and the end of the month, making them likely contenders for Nintendo's first 2026 showcase – assuming such an event takes place beforehand.
