Nintendo Direct 2021: UK time, predictions, and rumours for the February presentation - from Smash Bros to Pokemon

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo has announced its next ‘Direct’ live stream, which will shed light on the games “coming to Nintendo Switch in the first half of 2021.”

Nintendo’s Direct presentations are a way for the iconic entertainment company to show off new games, update fans on existing titles and occasionally make blockbuster announcements.

Fans will be hoping for all three to come as part of the next Nintendo Direct.

Here’s everything you need to know about it.

When is the Nintendo Direct?

Nintendo will kick off its latest Direct presentation on Wednesday 17 February.

It will begin streaming live on YouTube at 2pm Pacific Time – that’s 10pm in the UK.

It’s looking to be a juicy show packed full of new information, and Nintendo say the whole thing will last around 50 minutes.

What can we expect?

Speculation is rife as to what we could see revealed as part of the presentation, Nintendo’s first ‘proper’ such Direct since 2019.

Nintendo has hosted smaller Directs since then, but those have tended to focus on small independent titles, or given fans updates to already announced games.

This one could paint an exciting picture of what fans can expect to be playing in the next six months or so.

Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai has encouraged fans to give the presentation a watch, so it’s likely there will be some exciting news for fans of that series; new fighters perhaps, or a new game entirely?

Fans are also clamouring for any new regarding the upcoming Metroid Prime 4, which was announced almost four years ago, but has since undergone something of a tumultuous development cycle, with new studios taking over the reigns and starting from the ground up.

It's unlikely that game will release in the first half of 2021 (or this year at all), so it’s likely to be absent from this particular Direct.

But could we see something from the Metroid franchise? The long rumoured Metroid Prime HD collection that could bundle updated versions of the three classic GameCube and Wii games together?

Could we also see something on the next games in the Pokemon franchise?

Will we see anything from Zelda?

2021 marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series of games, and so fans are speculating we could see something on that front.

Last year, Nintendo celebrated Super Mario’s similar anniversary with special events, new games, and repackaged versions of old classics all coming to the Switch.

Will the same happen for Zelda? Will some of the best games ever made make their way to Nintendo’s handheld console, in crisp HD?

Shortly following the news of the Direct, BOTW2 began trending on Twitter, reflecting fans’ hopes that we could see something shown off from Breath of the Wild 2, the sequel to one of the Switch’s best games to date.

Will Nintendo announce the Switch Pro?

2021 sees the gaming landscape move into the next generation with the release of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, the two most powerful gaming machines on the planet that are capable of delivering incredible graphics at blistering speed.

Nintendo hasn’t been one to aim for the most cutting-edge visuals for many years, but their Switch console – released over three years ago at this point – is beginning to show its age in the face of these uber consoles.

For years now, it's been rumoured that the company has been working on an updated version of the tech, which would play all of the same games, just a higher resolution and with increased graphical settings.

Nintendo have denied the existence of any such console for as long as the rumours have been circulating, but could today be the day we finally see a beefier Switch?

Fans will be crossing their fingers.

How can I watch it?

Nintendo's February 2021 Direct presentation can be streamed through Nintendo's YouTube channel.