A brand new game from Nintendo, this one. Drag x Drive looks very like Rocket League in its gameplay, and sees a setup with integration for the Switch 2's camera, Game Chat and, judging by the trailer, it uses the all-new Switch 2 Mouse for controls.
We knew that Nintendo was going to have at least one title to show off the Switch 2's central gimmick, we just didn't think that wheelchair basketball would be the way in. In this 3-vs-3 baller, you'll have to manoeuvre, pass, shoot and wave with the Joy-Con 2 taking on opponents in what looks to be the sweatiest game on the system.
The movement-heavy controls seem a little complex at an initial glance, but remember when we all thought that with Splatoon? That turned out okay!
Here's the official summary and some screenshots from Nintendo:
A new 3v3 game experience, Drag x Drive challenges players to use both Joy-Con 2 at the same time to intuitively steer, speed up
and make plays.
With some motion-controlled celebrations and fast-paced arcade action looking guaranteed, we're feeling good about Drag x Drive. Releases Summer 2025!
What do you make of this one? Pass us your thoughts in the comments.
Comments 41
Could it be?
The ARMS killer?
@N00BiSH absolutely not.
Rolling around at the speed of sound!
@N00BiSH Yeah, this is like the kooky game they always do, which I am usually up for. It actually looks pretty cool!
This didn't appeal to me, but I like how they incorporated the mouse controls. That's pretty cool!
Gotta say, some of the comments in the live chat were utterly shameful when this showed (the usual Nintendo gone woke/DEI nonsense that unfortunately seems to pervade the air like a bad fart these days). I thought it looked bloody great, and I have a good friend who plays wheelchair basketball who will probably be absolutely stoked to see her favourite sport represented in videogame form.
And they say Nintendo doesn't do anything new and keeps doing same old same old
Looks cool but I fear someone will take this game the wrong way.
@Ryu_Niiyama they'll just have to roll with the punches.
I made the mistake of checking live chat during this announcement and the AI summary (yuk) said "Viewers are joking about a new game called 'Wheelchair Rocket League'" and something like "concerned about woke ideology"
@mandlecreed That's what i was thinking. It's so cool that they get represented in a video game. Plus we get a new ip from Nintendo! Looks fun with new controls for some quick online matches.
This looks fun, hope you can customise the characters a bit because they looked a little bland but other then that I'm down for it!
...I have no idea how they come up with this stuff lol. This is random.
Now with images!!
Very dismayed but not surprised by the live chat response to this game. Weird how the "Leave politics out of gaming" crowd seemed very quick to inject politics and mock disabled people at the same time. If you aren't into the game just leave it at that! Personally, I'll wait for reviews/price but seemed unique if a bit half baked.
ARMS at least had PERSONALITY! This looks about as sad as people sad Federation Force was. And with less color than the From Soft Game. Oy...
This game will be a great troll bait, just irresistible. But in topic, I hope they add more charm and character to the characters, (I.e. Arms) as it is the game lacks punch IMO.
Not as interested in this personally compared to other games (in the sense that I want to give it a try, but it can wait) but still, pretty cool concept - sad although not surprised that people can be so dumb and insensitive as mentioned by previous comments here!
Looking forward to seeing more of this one. They didn't really show what you can do in the game other than the basic gameplay, but I'm always happy to see games built around unique controller features like this, especially new IP.
To be honest there's something about this that kind of lacks charm for me. It's certainly no Splatoon or Arms.
The constant need to move both arms back and forth is going to get exhausting for a game this fast paced.
It looks like it is from the ARMS team. I'm a big fan of Rocket League and ARMS was great. Definitely interested. Hopefully it has normal controls too. I'm sure it will.
Hopefully there's cool stadiums too. They never showed any.
@OorWullie I had the same thought but then realized that if it has normal controls, then it would be a completely unfair advantage against people playing with the motion controls.
Honestly looks pretty charming.
@sketchturner ARMS had normal controls so perhaps they can balance it. Or maybe there will be separate lobbies. Although that wouldn't be ideal.
This game looks ridiculous. Which kid ever fantasised about being a wheelchair bound robot?
If they were human, it would feel so much better.
The robots don't even seem to have super powers.
I just don't get it...
@mandlecreed random people: A GAME WITH WHEELCHAIRS??? NINTENDO HAS GONE WOKE!!!😡😡😡😡
Nintendo: Here’s a game that we made to demonstrate our joy-cons new mouse feature! 😃
What a strange one. Gameplay wise it looks fascinating. But visually it's empty and grey and drab and utterly devoid of character. And the silence was deafening in the way that they never used the word "wheelchair" in the entire trailer. It reminds me of the the time that I got to try an evening of wheelchair basketball as a teenager, and had a great time with it. Years later I was telling someone about it and she was like, that's kind of not cool, disability appropriation or whatever. So nowadays just the word "wheelchair" has essentially become a political statement. And here's Nintendo, bold enough to build a game around it but too scared to describe what it is.
Looks fine enough. A game like this has to have plenty of cosmetics. This should’ve been a pack in game demonstrating the mouse.
I love the concept, but the execution is so... bland. Where's the vibrancy and style of something like ARMS or Splatoon? Feels like it could have been a lot more than the tech demo it appears to be.
This game will be closed in 2-3 months after release, check
I might actually get this if it’s reasonably priced! (unlike Mario Kart World…)
It’s gonna be super fun to utterly dunk on people with mouse controls lol
Nah, thanks, this is not for me. I would not want to be in a situation like this in real-life, why would I want to play a game about it. The colours, style and environments feel depressing too, especially for a Nintendo game.
This is definitely Switch 2's ARMS, and a new IP like Splatoon. but unless these drivers can be customized and/or take off their helmets, maybe it won't have their charm..
What is exciting for me is how it'll use motion controls, like a fitness element of it too.
This just looks super drab and boring. Backgrounds are just gray or girders, nothing jumps out like with Rocket league.
I could see this being a fun game but feel like the branding and aesthetics leave a lot to be desired and hold it back. Super unique concept but just looks so bland.
This looks absolutely awful. It has no personality, no visual flair and the control scheme looks like it would wear thin after 5 minutes. What on earth were they thinking?
@N00BiSH I see what you did there.
Love that they figured out a way to make wheelchair basketball possible in video game form and much like ARMS it looks playable even for my hand problems. Hoping gets a lot of customisation and colour tho, you shouldn't only have name plates to rely on to tell people apart.
@mandlecreed Dude after all the news of Trump cancelling/banning/blocking/whatever DEI efforts, this was such a breath of fresh air. I love the message this game conveys. it says nothing about wanting to be inclusive. It is just a fun game which puts wheelchair basketball on the same level as any other sport. Nowhere is it questioning how it could be any less of a fun activity. I honestly can't even tell if this was ever about inclusivity or if they really just made the game for the sake of it.
Kit and Krysta were joking about Nintendo eventually having an Arms successor called Legs. In a way, it's exactly the opposite.
It seems to use placeholder assets like from Game Builder Garage despite launching in summer. That's baffling.
Giving it some actual characters a la Arms would also remove the obvious question of why a robot would ever be using a manual wheelchair.
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