Some newly discovered rumors suggest that a Nintendo Direct takes place next month, with one particular claim on February 10th. This would mark Nintendo's first live stream in 2026.
The most recent Nintendo Direct took place on November 12th, though it was an outlier by the company's usual standards as it focused exclusively on Super Mario Galaxy Movie. For the last Direct focused on the game, we would have to go back to October 23rd, when Nintendo held an event dedicated to Kirby Air Riders.
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The first Nintendo Direct of 2026 is rumored to be on February 10th
The first Nintendo Direct of 2026 may take place on February 10, according to a new report from BeeFun. Not only did the French leaker commit to a specific date, but he even identified the alleged star of the show, claiming that at an upcoming Nintendo event, the new 3D Cool Mario The game for Switch 2. They also described the February 10th show as “huge”.
February's Nintendo Direct is a safe bet
Putting the specific date aside for a moment, the main claim of this leak – that the Nintendo Direct will take place in February – is an extremely safe bet. Since Nintendo introduced the live stream format in late 2011, there has been at least one February live stream in 10 of the 14 following years. The Japanese gaming giant is also currently on a six-year streak of hosting February Directs, with 2018 being the latest exception. Since 2012, each year a major Nintendo Direct has appeared in either January or February, and in some cases (such as 2015 and 2017) the Directs have been in both months. Given this historical context, the likelihood of a Nintendo Direct in February 2026 seems high and seems almost guaranteed if no such event happens before the end of January.
However, it may be too early for a new 3D Mario
While Nintendo is indeed preparing an announcement or three for the next month, the second part of BeeFun's claim seems to be much bigger. It is true that almost ten years have passed since the last 3D Mario a game that arrived on the Switch during the console's first year. However, the studio behind Galaxy Super Mario recently completed work on Donkey Kong Bananaone of the Switch 2's biggest launch year exclusives. If the new 3D Marieo title is indeed planned for a February 2026 unveiling, it would likely have to come from a team other than the one traditionally responsible for the main series. While not impossible, such an approach would be out of character for Nintendo, which typically keeps the primary development lead for primary entries in its flagship franchises consistent across generations, rather than moving that role to an entirely different studio.
Just as the Nintendo Direct Rumors are surfacing, the New Call of Duty Leak Mentions Nintendo
In a separate but possibly related sequence of events, references to Nintendo were recently discovered in the latest version Call of Duty HQ. This could signal that a Call of Duty a Switch 2 title is finally on the horizon, more than three years after Microsoft and Nintendo signed a deal to bring the franchise to Nintendo platforms for at least a decade. The deal, part of Microsoft's effort to appease regulators reviewing its then-expected acquisition of Activision Blizzard, has so far not resulted in any Call of Duty release on Nintendo systems. From 2026, latest COD the item available on the Nintendo platform remains Infinity Ward Call of Duty: Ghostsreleased for Wii U in November 2013.
Looking at the more likely candidates for a potential appearance at a hypothetical Nintendo Direct on February 10th, the list includes Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark ties, Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Requiem, Reanimate, Ys X: Current Nordicsand Mario tennis fever. All are scheduled for release between February 12th and the end of the month, making them plausible candidates for Nintendo's first 2026 preview – assuming such an event takes place beforehand.
