Nintendo E3 Direct live stream set for June 15 — what we know so far

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A Switch Pro announcement seems unlikely at E3, but here's what you can expect from Nintendo

Nintendo E3 live stream
(Image credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

With E3 2021 set to take place later this month, Nintendo has revealed its schedule for the virtual tradeshow. And it looks like there will be plenty of software on the agenda.

In a tweet, Nintendo announced that its E3 Nintendo Direct live presentation will take place on June 15, starting at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. The event will likely be live-streamed on the company's YouTube and Twitch channels. The presentation will last for 40 minutes featuring games mostly releasing in 2021. That will be followed by three hours of Treehouse Live, where Nintendo employees will take deep dives on new games.

Nintendo says the presentation will focus exclusively on software, meaning that any rumors of a Switch Pro unveiling at this event have been made null and void.

Granted, Nick Baker, co-founder of XboxEra.com, claimed that the Switch Pro announcement would be set for this week. If that's the case, then conceivably Nintendo could announce the Switch Pro before E3, which runs from June 12 to June 15, and instead talk about software during its E3 event. Still, announcing a new piece of hardware and not mentioning it at a 40-minute press conference would be odd. So we feel it's safe to suspect that a Switch Pro announcement will not be happening anytime soon. 

The E3 direct will likely be livestreamed on Nintendo's YouTube and Twitch channels. Of the two, we'd recommend watching on YouTube as you can pause and rewind, a feature not currently available on Twitch.

Considering 2021 has been a light year for Nintendo software so far, we expect Nintendo to go hard on new gameplay unveils and software announcements. Definitely expect more details on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, Mario Golf: Super Rush, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Splatoon 3, Project Triangle Strategy and Bayonetta 3. 

Another game we're hoping to see make some sort of appearance is Metroid Prime 4. The game has been in development limbo after Nintendo Japan had trouble putting the game together, punting production back to the original developers, Retro Studios in Austin, Texas. The game essentially had to restart from scratch, and given the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, development likely slowed. While it would be nice to see even a teaser of the upcoming title, we would not be shocked if it's a no-show during E3.

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.