Nintendo marks the first Pikmin Day with a Switch 2 Edition, demo and new shorts

[FluxPilot]

Pikmin fans got a surprise on Halloween. Nintendo Life rounds up a Pikmin Day Direct in which Nintendo announced 1 November as Pikmin Day, a new annual celebration alongside MAR10 Day and Pokémon Day

Shigeru Miyamoto explained that the date reflects the three original Pikmin, red, blue and yellow, which debuted on the GameCube in 2001, counted together as one. The headline announcement was Pikmin 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition plus Dandori Academy, launching on 12 November

A free demo arrives on 2 November, including the opening Sunspeckled Terrace area and two stages of Dandori Academy, and save data carries over to the full game. The Switch 2 Edition adds voice commands for Oatchi using the console's built in microphone. Dandori Academy is a new mode where players complete challenges, collect treasure and sit an exam, earning medals based on performance

Pikmin Bloom on mobile gets a Secret Caves update this winter, where players use cave maps attached to postcards to send Pikmin exploring. Cave maps can also be unlocked by passing exams in the new Switch 2 Edition. Nintendo Pictures and Miyamoto have also created an animated series called Hello! Pikmin, with two more episodes in November and one a month from December on the Nintendo Today app

Giving Pikmin its own day shows how much the series has grown, especially after Pikmin 4's success. Voice commands for Oatchi are a charming use of the Switch 2's microphone. The animated shorts suggest Nintendo sees Pikmin as a wider brand, not just a game series

Will you be picking up the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition? And what would you like to see in a Pikmin 5?

Round Up Pikmin Day 2026 Updates Demo And New Animated Shortswww.nintendolife.com