Star Fox Returns to Switch 2 After Nine Years

Star Fox is returning to Nintendo hardware on June 25 with a Switch 2 release, the franchise's first entry since Star Fox Zero landed on Wii U in April 2016. Zero divided the fanbase with its mandatory dual-screen control scheme, a hardware-specific experiment that sold poorly enough that Nintendo shelved the IP entirely for nine years. The new title lands during a Switch 2 window that is stacking returning franchises at pace: Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry 5 both arrive the same week, suggesting Nintendo is using the platform's momentum to resurrect properties that have been sitting dormant. Zero's poor reception was never really a verdict on the franchise itself. The core loop of space combat, boss patterns, and set-piece missions built a loyal audience that has been waiting nine years. Whether this revival earns back that audience depends on whether Nintendo lets the game stand on its merits rather than leaning on control-scheme novelty again.