The first new mainline Star Fox in a decade launches in 16 days, and you don't have to wait to try it — a free demo with save transfer is live on the eShop today.
Nintendo saved the most immediate gratification of this morning's Direct for Fox McCloud. A brand-new Star Fox launches on Switch 2 on June 25, 2026 — just sixteen days from today — and a free demo is live on the eShop right now.
Not a tease. Not a 2027 window. A new mainline Star Fox, in your hands today, full game in two weeks.
What's in the Demo
The demo is a real slice, not a glorified trailer:
- The full introduction sequence
- An early-game level with complete Arwing combat
- Save transfer — your demo progress carries into the full game on launch day
The save transfer detail matters. Nintendo has used this structure before with Splatoon and Xenoblade demos, and it consistently converts demo players into day-one buyers. If you have a Switch 2, downloading this costs you nothing.
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What We Know About the Full Game
- New entry, not a remake — this is an original Switch 2 Star Fox
- Arwing, Landmaster, and Submarine vehicles all confirmed
- Multiplayer mode included, details still to come
- Timed to the Star Fox franchise's 40th-anniversary celebration
A Decade of Waiting
This is the first new mainline Star Fox since Star Fox Zero in 2016 — and let's be honest about Zero: the forced Wii U GamePad dual-screen controls buried what could have been a good game. The franchise has effectively been dormant ever since, reduced to cameo appearances in Smash and Starlink.
Which means this is realistically the first Star Fox with a genuine chance to land since Star Fox 64 in 1997. Yes, we said it. Adventures was a Rare Zelda-like wearing a Star Fox costume, Assault was fine, Command was a touchscreen experiment, and Zero fought its own controls. The bar isn't just "be good" — it's "remind people why this franchise mattered in the first place."
The early signs are promising. The Direct footage showed classic on-rails corridor sequences alongside open all-range-mode dogfights, with the Landmaster and Submarine suggesting real mission variety rather than Arwing monotony. Traditional controls, no gimmick hardware dependency, modern visuals running at what looked like a locked framerate.
The Strategic Read
June 25 positions Star Fox as the Switch 2's big summer release, opening the runway Nintendo laid out this morning: Rhythm Heaven Groove July 2, FFXIV early access in August, the brutal October gauntlet, then Ocarina of Time for the holidays. Star Fox kicks off what is now the most stacked six-month stretch in recent Nintendo history.
A 40th-anniversary revival, a free demo with save transfer, and a two-week wait. Nintendo wants this one to succeed — and for the first time in a decade, Star Fox has every chance to.
Try the demo now on the Switch 2 eShop. We'll have our full review ahead of the June 25 launch.