Xenoblade Genesis is a brand new game in the Xenoblade series, arriving next year

Today’s Nintendo Direct hadn’t really picked up all that much that was genuinely new, but finally, here’s a big hitter! Nintendo seemed to take great pleasure in announcing a new beginning for the Xenoblade series, entitled Xenoblade Genesis. This brand new title will be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s definitely looking pretty different to the games that came before.

There’s something of a Fire Emblem Three Houses vibe going on here, both in terms of the anime-styled visuals and the all-new school setting. That’s enhanced even further by the elf-like main characters. You become a Vesselei, a powerful warrior who can control Anima using a Crystone to access your powers.

You’re set to attend Leukos, a school for Vesselai, and it seems as though you’re immediately thrust into the action, with various moments of drama shown throughout the announcement trailer.

As you’d expect, there’s huge areas to explore, beasts to fight, but there’s also mounts to ride on, including, from the looks of it, being able to take to the skies on a dragon. It looks to lean more heavily on a fantasy setting, rather than the science fiction framing we’ve come to know. This is a land warmed by the light of six suns, and we see it curving away into the distance, Halo-style, which is very interesting indeed. Are we still on top of some kind of giant creature? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

This is the best time for Switch 2 owners to get into Xenoblade too, with the first three games set to get upgraded Switch 2 versions over the next six months, the first of which arrives today! This is one of the most exciting announcements Switch 2 RPG fans could get, and things are looking great with titles like this, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth expanding the system’s already impressive library.

Xenoblade Genesis will launch for Switch 2 in 2027.

Tags: Xenoblade Genesis