As June draws closer, fans are eagerly anticipating news from game developers and publishers such as Nintendo. The company has made plenty of announcements during E3, and while they’ve missed out during E3’s cancellation in 2020, players still expect some big reveals thanks to upcoming titles like Mario Strikers: Battle League and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. If fans do get a Nintendo Direct substitute in June for the usual E3 fare, it’s quite possible that a new Mario reveal could be part of the announcement lineup.
Can Fans Expect a New Mario Reveal in Nintendo’s E3 Direct?
A brand-new mainline Mario game is likely to be announced soon simply because of good timing. The recently released Super Mario 3D World port showcased a new mode that brought in mechanics from Super Mario Odyssey. While some could argue that it was detailed enough to be an entire game in of itself, the short length makes it feel closer to a preview of what Odyssey could look like with classic Mario power-ups. Super Mario Odyssey itself released all the way back in 2017 – in other words, it’s been almost 5 years since fans have gotten a full mainline Mario title. This doesn’t guarantee the possibility of a new game coming soon, but the long wait is reason enough to suspect that something new will come soon.
The timing isn’t just good when looking at past titles, either. Outside of the Mario series, Breath of the Wild 2 has been delayed to 2023, allowing for Nintendo to hype up a new game of the year. An announcement and a release date are two very different things, but who knows; Super Mario Odyssey was revealed during the same year it came out, so maybe fans could see something similar happen this year. The animated Mario movie is set to release very soon as well, but the recent announcement of its delay could change things.
This is Miyamoto. After consulting with Chris-san, my partner at Illumination on the Super Mario Bros. film, we decided to move the global release to Spring 2023–April 28 in Japan and April 7 in North America. My deepest apologies but I promise it will be well worth the wait.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 26, 2022
While a new mainline Mario game would certainly draw attention to the upcoming movie, such attention might not last as long if it truly does get announced – and released – in 2022. That could change if such a game ended up being larger than fans expected, making it last especially long for anyone trying to 100% complete the title. Of course, this is all speculation. There’s still no confirmation that a new Mario game will be revealed, or even that a Nintendo Direct will happen in June. But the timing of such an announcement would be impeccable for Nintendo, and it would be sure to get fans around the world excited for what’s to come.
