Kirby and the World Beyond, Kirby’s new 3D adventure, due in spring 2027 on Switch 2

The facts

Nintendo presented Kirby and the World Beyond on 9 September 2026, at the very end of its Nintendo Direct. The game will be released in spring 2027, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2. It is developed by HAL Laboratory, the studio that created the series, and published by Nintendo. As we file this article, no more precise date has been given.

In France: Nintendo France announces the game for spring 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2, with no date or price on its product page as of 29 September 2026.

Nintendo describes it as a new 3D adventure: players will be able to roam freely through an expansive world and make creative use of Kirby’s Copy Abilities. The game’s French product page talks of exploring “the world beyond in complete freedom”.

The trailer shows Kirby wielding a large sword and escorted by a new companion, a strange creature that floats at his side. It also shows the blue sky cracking open, then the outer wall of the world, shattered, which Kirby eventually passes through. Several journalists saw it as a nod to the film The Truman Show (1998), whose hero discovers that his world is a set.

The story so far

The series was born on 27 April 1992 in Japan, on Game Boy, with Kirby’s Dream Land, developed by HAL Laboratory and designed by Masahiro Sakurai. Its hero, a small pink ball, inhales his enemies; he later became famous for copying their abilities after swallowing them.

It took thirty years for a main entry fully in 3D: Kirby and the Forgotten Land, released on 25 March 2022 on Switch. In it, Kirby even swallowed entire objects, such as a car. As of 31 March 2024, the game had sold 7.52 million copies, a record for the series. Kirby and the World Beyond will be the second main entry in 3D.

Why it matters

Nintendo chose Kirby to close its September Direct. The game follows on from the series’ biggest commercial success and will be released in the year of its 35th anniversary, a milestone Nintendo itself highlighted during the announcement.

Along with Metroid Ravenous, presented at the same Direct for 28 January 2027, it is also one of the Switch 2 exclusives already announced for the first half of 2027. It remains to be seen how far the promised freedom goes: that is the question the trailer leaves open, and the one the next presentations will have to answer.

Archive note

• Announced at the Nintendo Direct of 9 September 2026; release planned for spring 2027, with no precise date.
• Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo.
• Release planned for the year of the series’ 35th anniversary; it was born in 1992 with Kirby’s Dream Land.