'Bayonetta 3' headlines the rest of Nintendo's 2022 release schedule

Coming into this year, Nintendo was poised to have an enormous slate of releases, largely riding off the back of the release of Zelda: Breath of The Wild 2, which was supposed to make its arrival this spring. Now it’s been delayed until 2023.

An updated 2022 release schedule for the Japanese company shows there are still at least a handful of big titles to get excited for. Bayonetta 3, the latest highly anticipated title in the PlatinumGames action franchise, leads Nintendo’s planned release slate for the rest of the year.

It is important to note, however, that while a number of games have concrete release dates, Bayonetta 3’s is still classified as “TBD,” suggesting that the game isn’t guaranteed to release this year. Nintendo does still have it listed as a 2022 release, though, so we’ll hold onto some hope.

Here’s a list of some other notable games set to drop throughout 2022:

• Mario Strikers: Battle League — June 10
• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes — June 24
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 — July 29
• Splatoon 3 — September 9
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet — Winter 2022
• Bayonetta 3 — TBD 2022
• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp — TBD 2022

Putting all your eggs in one basket — Every console has its set of flagship games, whether that’s Halo or God of War or, in the case of Nintendo, Zelda. As delays have become a fixture in the general AAA title release cycle, it will be important for video game companies to map out balanced programming from year to year.

The days where the success of a given year is tied to a single title may be over for good, as supply chain issues continue to disrupt release timelines and as games become more technologically impressive, requiring more manpower to develop than ever before.

Despite the delay of BOTW2, Nintendo still has some heat ready to come out this year, on top of reigniting our collective nostalgia glands.