Nintendo has seemingly leaked a major announcement for today’s Direct

Nintendo has leaked a brand new game which is potentially set to be announced during today’s Nintendo Direct live stream.

Kirby: Discovery of the Stars (loose translation) was listed on the company’s Japanese website today, along with the below artwork.

The game is listed for a Spring 2022 release and its art shows Kirby exploring a derelict city environment.

It’s the second time Nintendo has accidentally revealed a new Kirby game via its website, after Kirby Fighters 2 was listed on its Western site last year ahead of an official announcement.

Earlier this year, Kirby developer HAL Laboratory said it was looking forward to sharing the mascot’s “next phase” with fans.

Kirby Star Allies director Shinyu Kumazaki wrote in an art book released in May: “Now, finally, we can move on to the next phase! I still try new things at work every day, talking with my colleagues about where to take the series next.

“Together with them, even if only to please a single fan, we’re planning for the next stage of our future. The team is a culmination of the best aspects of the Kirby franchise, and we hope you’ll look forward to what we have coming next.”

Today’s Nintendo Direct will kick off at 3pm PT (6pm ET, 11pm BST). The presentation will last 40 minutes and will be “focused mainly on Nintendo Switch games launching this winter.”

There has been huge fan demand for information on Nintendo’s upcoming games over the past 18 months, as disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic seemingly led to it being even more secretive than usual.

Although the platform holder’s full Direct presentations are now less frequent than when the initiative started in 2011, the Direct format has evolved with the addition of smaller presentations focused on indie games and individual franchises such as Pokémon and Smash Bros. DLC.

Recently the company has aired a series of ‘Partner’ Directs, with presentations focused on games from third-party developers.