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No Nintendo series is ever truly dead, and the return of Tomodachi Life proves that. One of the quirkier games released on the Nintendo 3DS, 13 years on from the original’s arrival, Tomodachi Life has been unexpectedly revived for the Nintendo Switch, and now we know exactly when we’ll be able to start playing.
Not only has Nintendo brought Tomodachi Life back for a sequel — Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream — but it considers that sequel to be big enough to deserve its own Direct. During that Direct, it confirmed Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream will be released on Switch on April 16, 2026.
A welcome reminder that this is a Switch game, not a Switch 2 game, so you can play it on both consoles.
The Direct also confirmed that the game’s Miis can be non-binary, and your created characters can be attracted to members of the opposite sex. It’s something of a full circle moment for the series.
The Hype Surrounding A New Tomodachi Life Game Shouldn't Come As A Surprise
I’m sure there were a lot of people who said «what the hell is this?», or words to that effect when Nintendo showed off Living The Dream for the first time last year. It’s an odd one to pull out of Nintendo’s very mixed bag, but one look at how well the original game performed, you can understand why there’s a want to bring it back.
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Tomodachi Life sold 6.72 million copies, making it the 11th best selling 3DS game ever. Even more impressive, other than Yo-kai Watch 2 at number ten, every other game on the 3DS that sold better than Tomodachi Life had a big Nintendo IP attached to it, like Mario Kart or Pokemon. It also explains why Nintendo wants this on the original Switch, giving it a potentil pool of 150 million people to sell to, almost a third of whom own Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a fanbase to which it feels like Living The Dream might really appeal to.
