Nintendo

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct - Everything announced

Nintendo details the long-awaited revival during a dedicated Tomodachi Life Direct.

Update: Jan 29th, 2026 15:42 CET

Tomodachi Life is back, 13 years after its original release on the 3DS. This title is headed for Nintendo Switch, being a unique social sim, which takes Nintendo’s Miis and transforms them into characters. After a Nintendo Direct lasting approximately 22 minutes, here’s everything we learned about Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

All the details announced for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream:

The first detail to reveal was explaining what a Mii is. Although they have been part of Nintendo consoles since the Wii, they have lost some of their presence since the Nintendo Switch. Yet, they remain as the player’s avatars within the system.
The game begins by creating the first resident of the island, which can be done from scratch or by answering a questionnaire. You can assign various details, from height and weight to personality traits and preferences.
In Tomodachi Life, our job will be to take care of our Miis and make them happy, from giving them new clothes and feeding them to even creating neighbors.
The island is deserted at the beginning, so you’ll have to add new characters. As you integrate them, the island will grow with new buildings and roads.
Introducing characters is easy: simply drag them around, making them interact with each other or even with other elements on the island.
Time will pass in real time on the island, even when you’re not playing.
The island will have several shops: Fresh Kingdom will be our shop for buying food. Where & Wear will be for buying new clothes, from normal items to hot dog costumes. The news station will report on the strange news happening on the island. T&E Reno will give us the items we need to design our Mii’s room. Marketplace will feature mystery bags. At Photo-Tomo, you can choose a Mii, scene, and background to take pictures, creating memories through photos.
The island will also be editable from Quick Build, allowing you to place objects, even increase the size of the island, and change the position of buildings.
Miis will be able to receive Little Quirks, which will make the characters unique.
Palette House will allow us to create other customizable elements, from pets and clothing to TV shows and the island’s floor.
Relationships between characters will be important for Miis, as they can fall in love, or even friends can move in together, with up to 8 Miis living together.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct - Everything announced