Nintendo Reveals Surprise New Free Game Taster Which Doesn’t Require NSO

Nintendo has revealed a surprise free game taster that doesn't require a subscription to its online service. Happy days!

It’s not that common for Nintendo to reveal a new game outside of a Nintendo Direct, especially when it relates to its main franchises such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda or Pokémon. Though that would be cool if we got a major new Super Mario game out of nowhere that we can play today.

Speaking of Super Mario though, a new demo has been revealed with no fanfare whatsoever, and it looks to be inspired by the games featuring Mario’s other nemesis that isn't Bowser or Waluigi, none other than Wario.

In the Spirit of WarioWare!

The game in question is called Pictonico, which is not only developed by Nintendo, but co-developed by Intelligent Systems, the same studio that has worked on the likes of WarioWare and Paper Mario.

Using your mobile phone’s camera, Pictonico! features a total of 80 mini-games that look fun, as much as they aim to make you feel like a silly fool. As of right now, Pictonico! is a glorified “free-to-start” demo that will release in its full form later this month. Players will be able to sample several of the minigames at no cost.

“Turn your photos into minigames! Sure, it's kind of silly... But there's no telling what will happen next!” reads the description of the game. “Here come your school's sports stars...strutting down the red carpet! Your boss is hungry and needs your help! Try to wash away those embarrassing high-school memories.”

"You can try a few minigames for free, or purchase volumes to unlock up to 80 minigames in total, ranging from easy to pretty tricky. Get ready to laugh out loud when you look back at old photos! You can even take photos with friends on the spot and use them right away."

You won’t need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play Pictonico!, as it will be a standalone game for purchase. But it will require an always-online connection. However, its price hasn't been revealed yet, but you can pre-register for the full game, as well as play its demo right now.

"Close enough, welcome back WarioWare Snapped," said SuperNintendoGameboy, in the comments section on YouTube.

"The most normal, strangest thing to come out of Nintendo," commented Azielotl.

"WarioWare Snapchat was not on the bingo card," exclaimed JohnBradyIRL.

The last actual WarioWare game in the series was 2023’s WarioWare: Move It! on the Nintendo Switch, so I think we’re a few years overdue for a new Switch 2 release, don’t you think?

The Pictonico! demo is available via Google Play and the iOS App Store. The full version of the game will be released on Thursday, 28 May 2026.

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