Nintendo has officially confirmed that a follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey is in development for the Nintendo Switch 2 generation – the first acknowledgment of a new mainline 3D Mario in nearly nine years. The confirmation came from franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto, speaking in a special Mario 40th Anniversary issue of Casa Brutus magazine, where he stated: “With the achievement of Super Mario Odyssey, I think we’ve gotten everything we wanted out of the Switch system. Up to now, we’ve released new [Mario] titles with the advent of each console; I’m excited to see how the current team will handle that.” No release date was given – but the fact that Miyamoto is talking about it at all is the news.
Here’s the context: Super Mario Odyssey launched in 2017 as a flagship title for the original Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo went the entire eight-year lifespan of that console without producing a direct follow-up – instead cycling Mario through remasters, 2D entries like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and spin-offs. Many fans expected a new 3D Mario to anchor the Switch 2 launch, but Nintendo surprised everyone by leading with Donkey Kong Bonanza instead, as we detailed in our coverage of every major announcement from the Nintendo Direct in May 2026. For context on where a new Mario fits into Nintendo’s broader release pipeline, our breakdown of unannounced Switch 2 games still coming this year lays out just how loaded – and still surprisingly sparse in places – the current first-party slate is.
Here’s the real read: Miyamoto’s comments are carefully worded but unmistakably deliberate – this is not an accidental mention in a casual interview, it’s a 40th-anniversary publication where every word is considered. Nintendo is clearly managing expectations: Miyamoto is telling fans the game exists and is generationally committed, while simultaneously signalling that it isn’t imminent. Reports suggest a team may have been working on the Odyssey follow-up in parallel with Donkey Kong Bonanza‘s development, which would compress the timeline somewhat – but the analysis landing on the late 2020s as a realistic window still feels right. The Nintendo Switch generation lasted eight years; the Switch 2 era is widely expected to be shorter, which means Nintendo cannot afford to sit on its single biggest system-seller until the end of the generation. A flagship 3D Mario is ultimately a hardware driver, and Nintendo knows that better than anyone – as the platform’s 156 million Switch units sold make abundantly clear.
The next checkpoint to watch is Nintendo‘s next major Direct – a franchise-level reveal of this size would almost certainly be staged for a high-visibility presentation rather than a quiet announcement, so any upcoming Direct cycle is worth tracking closely for even a first tease.
Are you relieved that a new 3D Mario is officially confirmed for Switch 2, or frustrated that it’s still this far off? And what are you hoping the follow-up to Odyssey actually looks like? Sound off in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more Nintendo and Super Mario coverage.
