Nintendo Direct For August 2025 Announced, But There’s a Catch

Nintendo confirms a new Direct presentation seemingly out of the blue, though the surprising announcement will be showcasing only 1 game for 45 minutes instead of a variety of content. One of the big questions surrounding Nintendo is the rest of its planned Switch 2 launch schedule for 2025, which is currently pretty mysterious.

After launching the Nintendo Switch 2 to massive sales numbers, Nintendo was able to support the console with first-party titles like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World. However, the rest of 2025 is still a bit more vague, with Nintendo yet to provide actual dates for planned 2025 releases, including the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. However, that plan may be beginning to slowly change as the company has made a big announcement regarding one of its planned game releases for later this year.

Nintendo Direct August 2025 Date and Time

• Tuesday, August 19 (6am Pacific, 9am Eastern, or 2pm UK)

In a surprising announcement, Nintendo confirmed through its Today app that a new Nintendo Direct is planned for Tuesday, August 19 and will run for approximately 45 minutes. However, this Direct is solely focused on Masahiro Sakurai’s Kirby Air Ride. While the game continues to have a vague 2025 launch date, this direct presentation could provide a bit of clarity to exactly when the game will launch, while also officially showcasing new gameplay and features.

Supporting the announcement is the creation of a dedicated Kirby Air Riders social media account. The first post highlights that the account will be used to detail updates for the game, so those who can’t tune in can follow the account to see posted reveals from the presentation, similar to what the main Nintendo account does during other Direct announcements. The sudden reveal could possibly be linked to an upcoming appearance at Gamescom 2025, which officially kicks off a day later on August 20.

While Nintendo’s original announcement of the smart app wasn’t a major reveal that many fans were hoping for at the time, the company has made sure to leverage it in a handful of big reveals already. In June, Nintendo revealed Splatoon Riders through the Today app, a brand new game coming to the Switch 2. The reveal included a teaser trailer, screenshots of the spinoff, and a bit of story details such as the player character and Deep Cut getting stranded on the Spirhalite Islands after crashing.