Nintendo has a long and proud tradition of announcing Star Fox games and then leaving the franchise to slowly rot on the vine for a decade. After Star Fox Zero on Wii U didn’t exactly set the world on fire, the series has been dormant long enough that a new announcement now lands as a surprise. And Nintendo chose to make that announcement in the most Nintendo way possible: a shadow-dropped Direct no one saw coming.
On May 6, Nintendo aired a surprise “Star Fox Nintendo Direct,” confirming not one but two new Star Fox titles for the Switch 2. The first is a rebuilt remake of Star Fox 64, visually overhauled while retaining the original’s stage layouts and team of Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Peppy. The remake adds expanded cinematics including new mission briefings, supports mouse controls using the Switch 2’s Joy-Con, allows a second player to take over gunner duties, and even brings back Nintendo 64 controller support for the purists. A “Star Fox” title, this one reimagines the story with a new prologue centered around James McCloud, Fox’s father, alongside 4v4 Star Wolf multiplayer battles.
The Direct itself was a classic Nintendo showcase: compact, information-dense, and structured to leave people talking. The event was entirely unannounced before airing, Nintendo clearly wanted this to hit the internet with maximum impact. It worked.
A release date for the new Star Fox title was confirmed for June 2026 for Switch 2.