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Nintendo Direct: Start time, how to watch or stream online and what to expect

Thursday's 40-minute presentation will mostly focus on this winter's games, like Metroid Dread and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

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Nintendo Switch

Thursday's Nintendo Direct will gives us a look at upcoming Switch games.

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Note: if you're here looking for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character reveal, that's a separate livestream happening Tuesday, Oct. 5.

The next Nintendo Direct livestream is coming Thursday, the company said. The 40-minute livestream will mainly focus on Nintendo Switch games launching this winter, and comes about two weeks before the new OLED model of the hybrid console launches on Oct. 8.

When does Nintendo Direct start?

The Nintendo Direct livestream starts at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET, which converts to 11 p.m. BST or 8 a.m. Friday AEST.

How to watch 

The event will be streaming from Nintendo's YouTube channel. We've embedded the YouTube link above, so you can watch right here. 

What should we expect?

Metroid Dread, the latest game in Nintendo's long-running sci-fi series, is coming out Oct. 8 and is the fall's major Switch game. The company will likely take one last opportunity to showcase it prior to release. We're unlikely to hear anything about the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4, but it's possible the company will confirm the rumored Switch remaster of Metroid Prime Trilogy.

There are a couple of other big Switch releases coming this year. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, remakes of 2007 Nintendo DS adventures Diamond and Pearl, arrive on Nov. 19, while Super Mario Party Superstars, Shin Megami Tensei V and Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp are coming out Oct. 29, Nov. 12 and Dec. 3, respectively.

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Since the winter stretches into next year, we might get another look at Pokemon Legends: Arceus ahead of its Jan. 28 release. Splatoon 3 and the sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are due out next year as well, but don't have firm release dates. 

It's also been a long time since we've heard anything about Bayonetta 3. A listing on Nintendo's Japanese site suggests that it'll come out in 2022. This is the first indication we've had of a release date, which likely means it'll show up too. Unannounced Kirby game Discovery of the Stars is also on that list, as a spring 2022 release, so it'll probably be unveiled during the livestream.

Castlevania Advance Collection, a Switch compilation of the Game Boy Advance adventure games, has reportedly appeared on ratings sites in multiple countries. It apparently includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. (The last one was an SNES game rather than a Game Boy Advance title, but we'll take it.)

Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has one more fighter coming as downloadable content, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons players would undoubtedly love to see some new features.

In addition, we've heard reports that Nintendo Switch Online, the console's subscription service, is adding Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to its library of classics, and an FCC filing suggested that a new Switch controller is coming.

Watch this: New Nintendo Switch adds bigger OLED: Here's what we know