Nintendo announced “Hello! Pikmin,” a new series of animated shorts, during its surprise Pikmin Day Direct on Oct. 31, with the first episode premiering that day. A second episode followed Nov. 1, another is due later this month and new shorts will arrive monthly starting in December.
The announcement arrived as Nintendo declared Nov. 1 the first annual Pikmin Day. Shigeru Miyamoto explained that Nov. 1 was chosen because the date, written as 11.1, resembles the original red, blue and yellow Pikmin standing side by side.
“Hello! Pikmin” release date and schedule
- Episode 1, “Frog”: Premiered Oct. 31 during the Pikmin Day Direct
- Episode 2, “Dream”: Released Nov. 1
- Episode 3: Due later in November
- Ongoing schedule: One new short per month starting in December
- Where to watch: The Nintendo Today! app and other Nintendo channels
What we know about “Hello! Pikmin”
The series is a collaboration between Miyamoto and Nintendo Pictures, the studio behind “Close to You,” a Pikmin animated short released in 2025. Miyamoto pointed viewers back to that film during the Direct.
The first episode runs under a minute and pairs a Red Pikmin with a frog and a baseball, while the second runs 42 seconds, Insider Gaming reported. Neither the Direct nor Nintendo’s press release detailed the plots of the upcoming installments.
Miyamoto framed the project as part of a broader push to raise the franchise’s profile, saying during the Direct: “Going forward, I want people to know more about Pikmin.”
That effort also includes some outside help. Miyamoto enlisted Japanese actress Fuka Koshiba, whose credits include the 2014 live-action “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” to help build excitement around the series. He said it began when he saw her making Pikmin hats on Instagram. Koshiba said she started knitting them because she couldn’t win the hats from claw machines.
Why it matters
The shorts land during a busy stretch for a franchise that turned 25 this fall. The original “Pikmin” launched on GameCube in Japan on Oct. 26, 2001. The Direct didn’t include a new game, so most of its attention went to existing ones.
“Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy,” announced in September, launches Nov. 12 with voice commands for the companion Oatchi via the Switch 2’s built-in microphone. Dandori Academy mode adds exams every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, online leaderboards and 72 stages releasing over time. A free demo with the opening area and two Dandori Academy stages has been available since Nov. 2.
Nintendo also announced a Secret Caves feature for Pikmin Bloom, the mobile game that launched in 2021. Due this winter, it lets players send Pikmin into caves to battle creatures and collect treasure, using cave maps that can arrive with postcards or be earned through Dandori Academy exams.
What’s next for “Hello! Pikmin”
Episode 3 is coming later in November. Monthly releases begin in December.
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