Happy Pikmin Day, everyone! Yes, that's an official thing now. Nintendo dropped a surprise Pikmin Day Direct yesterday, and Shigeru Miyamoto used it to declare that November 1 belongs to Olimar's little plant buddies from here on out.
The presentation went up on Nintendo's YouTube channels at 7 a.m. PT on Halloween with almost no warning, and it runs just under 10 minutes, per Game Rant. Miyamoto opened the show himself. "Starting this year, we're going to start calling November 1st Pikmin Day," he said, as Kotaku reports. Why November 1st? Stand three Pikmin shoulder to shoulder and they look like 11/1!
The original Pikmin launched on the GameCube in the fall of 2001, so this also happens to be the series' 25th anniversary year.
The biggest game news was a fresh look at Pikmin 4 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy, which Nintendo first announced back in September and which launches November 12. Pikmin 4 originally hit Switch in July 2023, and this new version adds voice commands for Oatchi through the Switch 2's built-in microphone, sharper visuals in both TV and handheld mode, and a brand new mode called Dandori Academy.
Dandori Academy is a set of timed exam stages where you race to haul treasure back as fast as you can and earn medals. According to Nintendo, 72 stages will roll out over time at varying difficulty levels. Kotaku notes the scored exams run Friday through Sunday, with practice open during the week, and GoNintendo says there are online leaderboards on top of that. You can also take on a friend in Dandori Battles over GameShare, even if they don't own the game.
Not sure you want to commit? A free demo arrives tomorrow, November 2nd, per Game Rant and Kotaku. Game Rant says it includes the opening Sunspeckled Terrace area plus two Dandori Academy stages, and Nintendo Everything reports your save data carries over to the full game.
As for price, the physical Switch 2 Edition is listed at $69.99 at retailers including Amazon and GameStop. If you already own Pikmin 4 on the original Switch, Nintendo is selling a $9.99 Dandori Academy Upgrade Pack on the eShop instead, and it's up for pre-order now. As of this writing, Nintendo hadn't posted a digital price for the full bundle.
The Direct closed on the first episode of Hello! Pikmin, a new series of animated shorts made with Nintendo Pictures. Episode one, "Frog," is already up on Nintendo's Direct page and in the Nintendo Today! app. Game Rant and Noisy Pixel both report a second episode was slated for today, Pikmin Day, and Kotaku says the shorts will become a monthly thing.
If the name Nintendo Pictures sounds familiar, that's the old Dynamo Pictures, the CG studio Nintendo bought in 2022. Dynamo made the three Pikmin Short Movies back in 2014, and in October 2025 the renamed studio put out the "Close to You" Pikmin shorts that had fans hunting for a game tease. Nintendo later said those were just short films, per VGC.
Mobile players got something too. Pikmin Bloom is adding Secret Caves this winter, where you send your Pikmin underground after big treasure (with a real chance of losing a few along the way). The Direct also introduced actress Fuka Koshiba as a Pikmin ambassador after Miyamoto noticed her crocheted hats. Nintendo also scheduled a Treehouse Plays stream of the Switch 2 Edition for today at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET).
There was no Pikmin 5, and no new game announcements. Switch 2 owners have had plenty of first-party Nintendo this year, from the new Star Fox to Splatoon Raiders.
What do you think? Are you trying the demo tomorrow, and how much longer do you think Nintendo can keep Pikmin 5 under wraps?
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