Nintendo is giving its little plant-like creatures a new screen adventure. The gaming giant has announced Hello! Pikmin, a series of short films based on its popular Pikmin video game franchise, while declaring 1 November as an annual Pikmin Day, an official holiday and celebration established by Nintendo.
The announcement came during a special Pikmin Day Direct livestream, where the first episode of Hello! Pikmin was unveiled. The second episode followed on 2 November, with another short scheduled for later this month. From December onwards, Nintendo plans to release one new episode every month.
The short film series is being developed in collaboration with Nintendo Pictures and will be available on the Nintendo Today! app and other channels. It follows the company’s earlier Pikmin Close to you short, released in 2025.
Nintendo also explained the reason behind choosing 1 November for Pikmin Day. The date represents the three original Pikmin varieties, red, blue and yellow, introduced in the first game. The three creatures resemble the number one, giving the date its significance.
The livestream also turned the spotlight on Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy, which is scheduled to launch on 12 November. The updated edition introduces Dandori Academy, a new mode that challenges players to collect treasure within a time limit. It also allows players to give voice commands to Oatchi, an adorable, bipedal alien dog-like character (known as a Space Dog), using the Nintendo Switch 2, a next-generation hybrid video game console, built-in microphone.
A free demo of the updated game became available on 2 November, featuring the opening area, Sun-Speckled Terrace (first main playable area), along with two Dandori Academy, a new time-trial and planning challenge mode stages.
Meanwhile, Pikmin Bloom, Nintendo’s augmented reality mobile game, is preparing to take players underground with a new Secret Caves feature. Scheduled for release this winter, the update will allow players to send their Pikmin into caves to battle creatures and collect treasure. Players will need cave maps to access these locations, with some potentially attached to postcards.
First released for the Nintendo GameCube, a sixth-generation home video game console, in 2001, Pikmin is a strategy game franchise in which players command small plant-like creatures to explore unfamiliar environments, gather resources and take on predators. The series has since expanded across Nintendo platforms, with Pikmin 4 arriving on Nintendo Switch in July 2023 and Pikmin Bloom making its global debut in October 2021.
With Hello! Pikmin bringing the franchise to short-form animation and fresh content arriving across console and mobile, Nintendo is giving its tiny explorers plenty of new ground to cover. The Pikmin may be small, but their screen ambitions are growing.
