Super Mario Just Crossed a Disappointing Milestone
Nintendo’s Super Mario just crossed a disappointing milestone. The three pillar franchises of Nintendo are obviously The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and Super Mario. The former got The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Back in 2023, and is about to get The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake next month. Meanwhile, Pokemon regularly gets new games, including major games like 2022’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and 2025’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A. And there are often Mario games being released, but it’s been a while since the last proper 3D Super Mario game.
The last time Nintendo fans were treated to a new major 3D Super Mario game was in the launch year of the Nintendo Switch, in 2017. In fact, it was exactly this day, 9 years ago, on October 27, 2017, that Super Mario Odyssey, the 7th major 3D Super Mario game. Despite being nine years old, it remains the latest installment, and there’s no word of its replacement. This is by far the longest wait for Nintendo fans, with the previous being the wait between Super Mario 64 on N64 and Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube, which released in 1996 and 2002, respectively. Meanwhile, the previous wait — the wait between Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey — was only four years. Suffice it to say, this is a bittersweet anniversary for Super Mario. Super Mario Odyssey turns 9 years old today, but Nintendo fans have hit another painful milestone: 9 years without a follow-up.
Releasing in 2027?
According to the latest rumor, the next 3D Super Mario game is releasing in 2027. This is just a rumor, though. And it feels like the possibility of this happening is running out of time. As you may know, Super Mario Odyssey was revealed on October 20, 2016, and then released almost exactly a year later on October 27, 2027. If a similar release strategy is going to repeat, then the next installment in the series is going to have to be revealed imminently. That said, there is no guarantee Nintendo will repeat its approach.
In the meantime, Nintendo fans can celebrate the recent anniversaries of two other Super Mario games with free downloads via Nintendo Switch Online.
As for why the next installment is taking so long, there are a few explanations, including that game development times have been increasing. Additionally, the team that would have made a new 3D Super Mario game was busy making Donkey Kong Bananza until 2025, at least partially. To this end, while the aforementioned rumor suggests the next game will be out in 2027, it’s hard to imagine. In fact, it’s hard to imagine even getting the game in 2028 based on the current timelines. All of this is to say we may have a few more of these disappointing milestones still to come.