Rumor: Nintendo Planning New Mario Collection for Franchise's 40th Anniversary
Rumor has it that Nintendo is planning to release a new Super Mario game collection in honor of the franchise’s 40th anniversary next year. While Mario technically made his debut in the original Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981, Nintendo seems to consider the US arcade release of the first Super Mario Bros. title in 1986 to be his true birthday. 2026 will mark four decades since then, and fans are expecting a big celebration of the plumber mascot’s long and storied gaming history.
Any announcements related to Mario’s 40th anniversary might come on March 10, which Nintendo recognizes as Mario Day due to the date resembling his name. Past Mario Day announcements have ranged from revealing the first LEGO Super Mario sets to new updates for existing products like the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo, and there have even been special in-game events in titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in honor of Mario and the impact the character has had on gaming as a whole.
A NeoGAF and Discord user by the handle of Johnny Skinny claims that Nintendo will announce a brand-new Super Mario game collection to celebrate Mario’s 40th anniversary. As shared by SpiritofAce on r/GamingLeaksAndRumours, this collection could include 2006’s New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, 2009’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and 2012’s New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS.
Rumored Mario Collection Game Lineup
- New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo DS, 2006
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Nintendo Wii, 2009
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Nintendo 3DS, 2012
John Skinny says that he decided to share this information in light of the rumors of another Nintendo Direct livestream this fall, and that he got the information about a new Mario collection from internal scheduling documents and partial localization assets shared by a contractor QA team he has worked with before. Some fans have pointed out that there are a few notable titles missing from this collection, like New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Luigi U, both of which were eventually rereleased on the Nintendo Switch as New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
John Skinny’s Super Mario collection list could be incomplete, assuming that his information about such a compilation coming is indeed valid. Fans should remain skeptical of any rumors until they are officially verified, but it is worth pointing out that John Skinny correctly leaked details about the Nintendo Switch 2 before its release earlier this year. Perhaps gamers will be able to play some of Mario’s most noteworthy titles on the Switch 2 next year in honor of the plumber’s 40th birthday.