Nintendo has just announced that a Direct will take place on January 29, this one focusing solely on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. This will mark the second Nintendo Direct of 2026, with the first being last Sunday's Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct, which confirmed a new release date for the animated sequel and gave fans their first look at Illumination's version of Yoshi.
Released in 2009 exclusively in Japan, Tomodachi Collection is a Nintendo DS social simulator that sees players forging some Miis and overseeing their day-to-day lives. In 2013, Tomodachi Collection received a sequel on the Nintendo 3DS, which was released a year later in North America under the name Tomodachi Life. Though Tomodachi Life received a somewhat mixed reception upon its US launch – with it holding a 74 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic with just 49% of critics recommending it – the 3DS game has received a sort of cult following in recent years thanks in no small part to viral videos of Tomodachi Life's bizarre text-to-speech singing sequences.
Mario Kart and Yoshi's Island Producer Has Reportedly Retired from Nintendo After Nearly 40 Years
Nintendo fans are learning that a beloved producer has retired, after nearly 40 years working on games like Mario Kart and Luigi's Mansion.
Nintendo Announces Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct for January 29
- Airing January 29 at 6am PT / 9am ET
A decade following the launch of Tomodachi Life, Nintendo officially announced a sequel, and now that game is getting its own dedicated Nintendo Direct. On January 29, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will receive a showcase that's set to last "roughly 20 minutes," according to Nintendo's announcement post on X. When it comes to Nintendo Directs that focus solely on one game, the runtime tends to vary quite dramatically. For instance, while the Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza Directs in April and June 2025 lasted around 17 minutes each, Kirby Air Riders received two separate Nintendo Directs last year that both ran for almost an hour each. That said, 20 minutes should be more than enough time for Nintendo to give a good overview of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream's gameplay.
Following its announcement in March 2025, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream received one additional trailer that gave fans a bit more insight into the long-awaited sequel's new features. A new suite of customization options were revealed, and deeper social interactions were teased. Fans should expect to see a more thorough gameplay deep-dive in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream's January 29 Direct, including a greater look at the game's social systems and minigames.
At the end of its September 2025 trailer, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream was officially given a Spring 2026 release window, which would see the game launch between March and May this year. It's very likely that an exact release date for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be announced during the upcoming Nintendo Direct. It's also possible that pre-orders for the game will go live following the Direct on January 29, though Nintendo could hold off for a little longer if the release date ends up being towards the end of that Spring 2026 window.
When's The Next Big Nintendo Direct?
While Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a big deal for many people, there are undoubtedly some Nintendo fans that are more excited for the company's next fully-fledged Direct, where future Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 titles will be announced. Though Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed when its next full-length Direct will be, a leak from @BeeFun on January 10 claimed that a general Nintendo Direct will be taking place on February 10. What's more is that this Direct will allegedly feature a new 3D Super Mario game. Of course, all leaks and rumors should be taken with a pinch of salt, but Nintendo does have a history of delivering a Direct in the first two weeks of February.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Prequel(s)
- Tomodachi Life
- Franchise
- Tomodachi
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation
