A new Nintendo Switch 2 rumor may reveal the release date of the new 3D Mario game. The last time Nintendo fans were treated to a proper new 3D Mario game — not re-releases like Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury or Super Mario 3D All-Stars — was back in 2017 when Super Mario Odyssey released. This was eight calendar years ago. Not only has the wait for next 3D Mario game been a painful wait for Mario fans, but an abnormally long wait.
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Four years, previously, separated the releases of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World for Wii U and Nintendo Switch’s Super Mario Odyssey. Before this there was Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. Nothing close to an eight-year gap. The longest gap between 3D Mario releases before this current gap was the gap between Super Mario 64 for the N64 in 1996 and Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube in 2002. Even this was only six years though.
Thankfully, the wait should finally come to an end this year. There’s been no official word of a new 3D Mario game in development for Nintendo Switch 2, but this is the expectation based on historical context and basic industry analysis. Further, it’s also rumored. However, according to this new rumor, there will not be a 3D Mario game at the launch of the Switch 2, which it says is March 3, but rather it will come after launch. The rumor does not say when exactly, but the aforementioned historical context may reveal as much.
As you may remember, the big Nintendo Switch launch game in 2017 was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This time it is supposedly going to be Mario Kart 9. This leaves two likely destinations for a new 3D Mario game.
The first is October. Back in 2017, Super Mario Odyssey was not available at the launch of the Nintendo Switch, but served as its big release for its first holiday season on the market. If the new 3D Mario game for Nintendo Switch 2 is not going to be ready at launch, having it go in this same window again would make a lot of sense. Nintendo will want a big pop for the holiday season, and Super Mario Odyssey provided exactly that back in 2017.
It’s also worth noting the first Nintendo Switch had a major release a month after launch in the form of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which hit late April that year. With Mario Kart 9 supposedly a Nintendo Switch 2 launch game, this opens the door for something else to step into this secondary splash role. This could be the new 3D Mario game.
Nintendo will want to maintain a steady flow of momentum via a steady flow of Nintendo Switch 2 releases in 2025. Right now, if a new 3D Mario game is not going to be a Nintendo Switch 2 launch game then it is almost certainly going to be the Nintendo Switch 2 holiday game. All of that said, right now all we have is speculation and rumors so remember to take everything here with a grain of salt.
