Following a long drought, the next Nintendo Direct broadcast has been announced. Nintendo revealed that there will be a Nintendo Direct presentation streamed on Wednesday, February 17 that will deliver news about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and upcoming Nintendo Switch games. It's a mega-broadcast, too, as Nintendo said it'll be around 50 minutes long. Excitingly, this is a proper Nintendo Direct, as opposed to the lower-key streams we've seen over the past year-plus. It's the first such event from Nintendo since September 2019.

Nintendo did not provide any further details around what to expect, only saying it would feature "information focused on available games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and games coming to Nintendo Switch in the first half of 2021." With Smash, it's safe to assume a new fighter will be revealed, as there are still several more characters to come as part of Fighters Pass 2.

As for the other games, these could include titles like Bravely Default 2, New Pokemon Snap, and Monster Hunter Rise, all of which are scheduled to release in the first half of 2021. Other announced Switch games, albeit without release dates, include Shin Megami Tensei V, Bayonetta 3, and Metroid Prime 4. Notably, this year marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda's release in Japan, so it's possible that some kind of Zelda-centric news will be revealed. A sequel to Breath of the Wild is known to be in the works, but it's been quite some time since we got a glimpse of it.

Nintendo provided no indication that there would be hardware news at the event, but given the super-sized nature of the event, enthusiastic fans will no doubt get their hopes up for some kind of announcement. Reports have continued to persist that Nintendo will release a so-called Switch Pro that features enhanced hardware. For its part, Nintendo says it won't release a new Switch model this year. This March marks the four-year anniversary of the console's release.

Nintendo Direct February 17 How To Watch

The February 17 Nintendo Direct event takes place at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET. You can watch the Direct as it airs through the YouTube embed above.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Nintendo Switch