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Star Fox Adventures Joins GameCube Nintendo Classics After September 9 Direct

Rare's Star Fox Adventures is the last game Nintendo and Rare made together before Rare became a Microsoft subsidiary, and it is now available on a Nintendo platform again through the Expansion Pack.

Key Facts

  • Star Fox Adventures was added to the Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Classics library immediately after the Nintendo Direct 2026.9.9 broadcast on September 9, 2026.
  • Star Fox Adventures launched for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 and is the third game in the Star Fox series.
  • Playing Star Fox Adventures on Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Classics requires the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.
  • The Switch 2 game Star Fox gets a free Battle Mode update adding split-screen, the stages Katina, Sector X, and Venom, and four-player online play from one console.
  • The free Star Fox update is dated September 30 by 4Gamer and September 29 by Anime News Network.

Reporting from 6 sources: Anime News Network, 4Gamer.net, Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, and 2 more.

Star Fox Adventures Joins GameCube Nintendo Classics After September 9 Direct

Nintendo announced during the Nintendo Direct 2026.9.9 livestream on September 9 that Star Fox Adventures will join the Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Classics library, with distribution starting right after the broadcast ended. The 2002 GameCube title requires the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. It is the third game in the Star Fox series and moves away from the 3D shooting of its predecessors toward 3D action adventure, with Fox McCloud exploring a dinosaur-inhabited planet alongside his companion Tricky. Development was handled by the UK studio Rare. The Direct also confirmed a free update for the Switch 2 title Star Fox, adding split-screen support to Battle Mode, three new battle stages, and online play for up to four players from a single Switch 2 console. That update arrives September 30.

Star Fox Adventures was originally an action adventure called Dinosaur Planet that Rare was developing for the Nintendo 64. It was reworked into a Star Fox game and released for the GameCube. Rare, based in the UK, is known for the Super Donkey Kong series, GoldenEye 007, and the Banjo and Kazooie series.

The re-release follows Rare's sale. In September 2002, the same month Star Fox Adventures released, Nintendo sold its shares to Microsoft, and Rare became a Microsoft subsidiary. The Nintendo and Rare partnership began with 1994's Super Donkey Kong, and Star Fox Adventures was the last game the two companies made together.

The Battle Mode update for the Switch 2 Star Fox adds the stages "Katina," "Sector X," and "Venom." The remake launched on June 25 and keeps the layout and general mechanics of the 1997 Star Fox 64. It adds cinematic briefings, fully voiced dialogue, and a new orchestral soundtrack to the Campaign Mode, which has three difficulty levels. A Challenge Mode lets players replay completed levels with extra objectives in two difficulty levels. Campaign and Challenge Mode support Joy-Con 2 mouse controls and two-player co-op on one system or through GameShare via GameChat.

The story of Star Fox Adventures is set eight years after Star Fox 64. Fox McCloud also appeared in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which opened on April 1.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 6 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

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