Super Mario Maker 2 was announced today during Nintendo's latest Nintendo Direct presentation. The game will launch in June later this year, and will appear on the Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario Maker first launched on Nintendo Wii U in 2015. The game was one of the larger successes for Nintendo during a downswing in the company's fortunes, featuring online play that allowed creators to share their levels online. It became a staple for gamers who enjoy speedrunning and other competitive gaming ventures, and even spawned several competitions across the internet for level design and completion. Super Mario Maker was later ported to the Nintendo 3DS in 2016, but sadly lacked many of the features that made it so popular, including the puzzling decision to remove online level sharing from the port.

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Super Mario Maker 2 appears to be a much more robust version of its predecessor. The trailer Nintendo debuted showed off an improved interface, which will likely be key for those looking to just use the touchscreen of the Switch. The trailer also introduced both Mario and Luigi to the gameplay, which suggests that we might have much more variety in terms of character selection and more when the game releases in June. While no exact launch date was given, it's worth noting that the game now launches ahead of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, making it an even more important summer release for the Switch.

Super Mario Maker 2 will also be a major selling point for Nintendo's online Switch subscription service, which has been a tough sell for many. The online service has been criticized by fans for being laggy, something that was most recently exacerbated when Super Smash Bros: Ultimate released. While the service needs some improvements to truly be a competitor to its Sony and Microsoft online counterparts, the addition of an online title that doesn't rely on multiplayer input precision should help smooth things over in the meantime.

Mario Maker 2 Screen

As it stands right now, we simply don't know enough about Super Mario Maker 2 to determine whether it will be the game so many fans want it to be. However, Nintendo's debut trailer holds a lot of promise, and if the game manages to capture the same spirit that buoyed Super Mario Maker despite its existence on a struggling Wii U platform, it will be a contender and must-own for the Switch.

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Super Mario Maker 2 will be released in June on the Nintendo Switch.

Source: Nintendo Direct