Back in February, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Maker 2 was coming to the Switch later this year. Coming off the success of the original game, which launched back in 2015, Nintendo looks ready to release the sequel sooner than we may have thought, as it appears we're just a couple months away from being able to play it.

Nintendo of America confirmed today via Twitter that Super Mario Maker 2 will release on June 28th, just weeks after E3. It's possible that Super Mario Maker 2 will be featured during Nintendo's E3 2019 showcase, but that has yet to be confirmed at the time of this writing.

Even though the sales potential of the original Super Mario Maker was stunted by the lack of hardware sales of the Nintendo Wii U, the game's online playlist tools allowed for some creative level layouts set in the Mario universe. One fan's love for the game pushed them to fully recreate the 1990 platformer Super Mario World, and this of course is just the tip of the iceberg of what Super Mario Maker's shareable levels have provided players for the past three and a half years.

While Nintendo's last generation Wii U didn't catch on with many, the failed system's library of first-party games were largely well received by those who played them. With critically praised titles such as Pokken Tournament, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and Bayonetta 2, Nintendo understands there's a demand for its first-party games, and with the Switch selling as well as it has been, it make sense games such as these have a chance to shine on the newer console. In the case of Super Mario Maker 2, Nintendo likely felt less of a need to bring a direct port of the prequel, and instead opted to simply build upon what the original game offered in order to make the upcoming release feel like as fresh of an experience as possible.

Super Mario Maker 2 launches on June 28th exclusively for Nintendo Switch.