It's been a long time since we've had a new F-Zero game. Not since 2004, when Nintendo developed a (Japan-only) Game Boy Advance entry called F-Zero Climax.
In the West, we've been waiting slightly longer, when Sega helped develop 2003's F-Zero GX on GameCube. While Nintendo added two F-Zero tracks into Mario Kart 8 and Captain Falcon remains a regular fixture in Smash Bros, it's just not the same as a new game.
There's often been speculation that a new one's coming and though we're not expecting anything to emerge outside of a Nintendo Direct presentation, here's what we know about a potential next F-Zero entry.
- Read More: When Is The Next Nintendo Direct?
Latest News
10 February 2022
Nothing. That's precisely what Nintendo gave us in terms of F-Zero news during the recent Nintendo Direct.
8 February 2022
Nintendo has confirmed a new Direct presentation airs tomorrow on February 9. Scheduled to kick off at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10PM GMT / 11pm CET, that's expected to last for "roughly 40 minutes," focus on Switch games launching "in the first half of 2022."
30 June 2021
An "Ultra-Realistic" F-Zero Switch Game Was Pitched To Nintendo But Rejected -Former Nintendo programmer Giles Goddard revealed during a GameXplain interview that he'd pitched an "ultra-realistic" F-Zero game to Nintendo, which was ultimately rejected. Read more here.
16 April 2021
Former Nintendo Staffer Takaya Imamura States F-Zero Isn't Dead - Speaking to IGN, Takaya Imamura - who worked on the original F-Zero - stated his belief that despite the nearly two decade hiatus, F-Zero isn't dead. However, he also confirmed: "Of course, I’ve thought about it many times, but without a grand new idea, it’s hard to bring it back". You can read more here.
3 January 2021
F-Zero GX Producer Is Open To Working On A New Installment - Sega’s chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi spoke with Red Bull for an interview, admitting he has "a great deal of affection for F-Zero GX". Notably, he then stated:
If the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t be against it. And in this case, I would like to make a game with challenge. I’m assuming that if Nintendo just wants a ‘fun and accessible’ racing game, they already have Mario Kart for that.
Release Date Leaks
Back in July 2020, there was speculation that a new F-Zero announcement was being planned, after a private Twitter account was discovered alongside a Super Mario 35th one, using a recovery email that looked like an official Nintendo one. While Super Mario's one turned out to be legitimate, the F-Zero account (which we won't link directly due to inappropriate content) went public and was quickly confirmed as a fake.
For the time being though, there's no news on a potential announcement, let alone a release date.
Is F-Zero On Switch?
Technically, yes. Nintendo Switch Online offers a regular slate of NES/SNES games as a subscription perk, which includes the original F-Zero game on SNES. However, that's currently the only entry available on Nintendo's hybrid console.
F-Zero X, the N64 entry, is also confirmed as an upcoming game for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers. However, we don't have a release date for this just yet.