With Summer Game Fest's Kick-Off show and the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase having now aired, revealing plenty of new titles coming to consoles and PC in the coming months and years, it seems that the season of summer gaming events is in full swing. While a few of some of the major showcases have already aired and more are still to come, one major publisher is still noticeably absent, Nintendo. While Nintendo has yet to air a big Nintendo Direct for June 2022, some very credible sources have implied it's still coming.
For years Nintendo has held major Nintendo Direct presentations during June, typically as part of E3. These showcases are often announced either weeks or months in advance as part of the Electronic Software Association's promotion of the event, but in 2020 and now in 2022, the ESA canceled E3, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, this resulted in Nintendo hosting multiple Nintendo Direct Mini events spread out over a few months, but fans do not know what to expect from the company in 2022.
Regular Nintendo Direct events are typically announced one day before they are set to air, and given that Nintendo's presentations usually come after events such as the Xbox and Bethesda Game Showcase, many have speculated that June 15th is when to expect the next major Nintendo Direct. This appears to be incorrect though, as Santa Monica Studio writer and ex-IGN staff member Alanah Pearce has indicated that a Nintendo Direct is set to air on June 29th.
Speaking on her live stream reacting to the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Pearce claimed while looking at her upcoming events calendar that she has heard that a Nintendo Direct is coming on June 29th. When her audience pointed out that such an event had not been announced, she doubled down, claiming "you heard it here first." Video Games Chronicle also corroborated Pearce's claims, stating that they had also heard from sources that Nintendo is planning a Direct presentation for the end of June.
Alanah Pearce has a long and respected history in the industry, meaning it's unlikely for her to speculate on such an event without evidence. She is also a writer for Sony's Santa Monica Studio and likely has many contacts and affiliates within the industry that could have relayed this information to her. The timing also makes sense considering Nintendo is not beholden to events such as E3 this year, despite having many titles that it still needs to provide updates on like Bayonetta 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Booster Course Pass Wave 2.