8 major Nintendo announcements that could win E3 2021

Nintendo’s E3 2021 livestream is coming up on June 15, starting at 12 p.m. Eastern. It promises 40 minutes worth of information on new Switch games, plus a three-hour Treehouse Live focusing on a select few titles.

While we don’t know exactly what Nintendo has in store, there are some potential E3 announcements we’d put money on and others we’re just hoping to will into existence.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s final fighters have yet to be revealed, and E3 could be a good place to debut at least one. Nintendo has a history of revealing Smash Bros. news at dedicated Direct livestreams, so the announcement could skip E3 proper.

The Nintendo Switch is one of the best platforms ever for indie games, and we’ll likely see quite a few new titles at E3 2021. Expect new games from big names like Devolver as well as smaller devs.

Nintendo is focusing on games coming in 2021 at E3, so Splatoon 3’s 2022 release date would seem to disqualify it. Still, Nintendo likely wants to build hype for the marquee title, so a new trailer could be in order.

The Skyward Sword remaster is due out a month after E3, so Nintendo could announce another dip into The Legend of Zelda’s back catalog while hype is high. Rumor has it that Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, and Wind Waker could be next.

Nintendo is probably holding onto new Pokémon Legends: Arceus details until closer to its release, but we expect to hear more about Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which is slated for this November.

Breath of the Wild 2 is the biggest question mark on Nintendo’s E3 2021 schedule. It doesn’t have a release date and we know next to nothing about the game yet. BOTW 2 is almost certain to show up in some form, whether it’s another tease or a show-stopping announcement.

Rumors of an updated Switch are so numerous and specific that it seems more far-fetched not to believe them at this point. With a rumored 2021 release date, it would make sense for Nintendo to reveal the new hardware at E3 and let the pre-orders start flooding in.