Nintendo Direct Confirms New Donkey Kong Game, Metroid Prime 4 Update, and Zelda Spinoff for Holiday 2024

Nintendo held its long-anticipated June Direct this morning, offering fans a treasure trove of content and confirming that the back half of 2024 will be one of the company’s busiest yet. The headliners? A brand-new Donkey Kong title, fresh details on Metroid Prime 4, and a Legend of Zelda spinoff coming just in time for the holiday season.

Let’s start with the return of the Kong. Donkey Kong Country: Rise of the Kongs is a bold reimagining of the classic side-scrolling platformer, now rendered in a rich 2.5D art style that blends nostalgia with fresh mechanics. The game will feature both single-player and drop-in/drop-out co-op, where players can take control of Donkey Kong, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky in a quest to reclaim their jungle home from a mysterious new villain. Set to release in November, it marks the first original Donkey Kong platformer in over a decade.

The biggest surprise, though, was a long-awaited update on Metroid Prime 4. Now officially subtitled *Metroid Prime 4: Beyond*, the game received its first gameplay trailer since its rocky development reboot back in 2019. The footage showed off vast alien landscapes, slick first-person shooting mechanics, and a brief appearance by series protagonist Samus Aran. While Nintendo didn’t provide an exact release date, “2025” closed the teaser, signaling that players still need to wait a bit longer — but at least there’s tangible proof that it’s real and progressing.

Lastly, The Legend of Zelda will expand its universe with *Echoes of the Triforce*, a top-down action-puzzle game that lets players control Zelda herself for the first time in a mainline spinoff. Featuring a painterly art direction akin to Link’s Awakening for Switch, the game focuses on magic, stealth, and exploration, offering a unique twist on the traditional Zelda formula. It’s set for a December release, just in time for the holiday season.

Between the return of Donkey Kong, Metroid Prime’s long-awaited revival, and a bold new direction for Zelda, Nintendo fans have a packed lineup to look forward to in the coming months.