Following the conclusion of its 40th anniversary, Nintendo has quietly updated the official Super Mario logo on its web properties for the first time in 15 years, introducing a 3D dimensional aesthetic with toy-like sheen and metallic gray outlines alongside new, detailed character artwork.
Nintendo rarely alters its core branding, usually reserving logo adjustments to signal major shifts for its flagship video game franchise. The updated wordmark keeps the familiar SUPER MARIO text intact while trading the flat black outlines of prior iterations for physical volume, a toy-like sheen, and a metallic gray edge that echoes recent multimedia adaptations.
Website Discoveries and the 2026 Logo Refresh
Fans scouring the official Nintendo ‘Super Mario’ webpage first spotted the altered wordmark. The refresh brings a distinct 3D makeover to the iconic branding, moving away from the flat graphic style established during the Nintendo DS era. Nintendo officially updated the Super Mario logo in 2026. The new emblem features a dimensional look complete with a toy-like sheen and a metallic gray outline where a flat black stroke used to be, keeping the familiar SUPER MARIO wordmark while giving the letters real volume. Nintendo’s new Super Mario logo evokes the same plastic aesthetic of the Super Mario 3D World video game, with added depth and lightning to highlight the difference.
Without any fanfare from Nintendo themselves, it appears the company has been working on a new set of Mario renders, along with a slightly updated version of the Super Mario logo. Players examining the updated assets spotted minor alterations, including new pockets on Mario as part of the detailed render refresh. While the company made no formal announcement, these housekeeping updates have naturally sparked speculation across the fan community, with diehards snooping around every virtual corner to see what Nintendo’s up to.
Tracing Mario Logo Evolution
Logo changes carry heavy context for the franchise, as Nintendo embraced consistency with the Super Mario logo, almost never changing it unless with slight tweaks. The first consistent logo arrived with Super Mario 64 in 1996, featuring playful, irregular letterforms in bright primary colors with black outlines and light shading. Nintendo rolled out a tightened design for Super Mario 3D Land in 2011 that tightened the shapes, swapped some colors (S is now blue while U is yellow), and added a heavier inner shadow to make the letters slightly plumper and more even.
Mario Kart: Kept the 3D bevel and black shell, but completely abandoned the colorful aesthetic to lean more toward a chrome design and a machine-like aesthetic reminiscent of the carts used in the game.
Mario Golf: Closely resembled the new Super Mario logo, keeping the original color assignment for MARIO while designing the letters in GOLF like golf balls with gray 3D sides.
New Super Mario Bros.: Felt like a reset during the Nintendo DS era, showcasing a flat graphic with a fake drop-shadow slab and an almost industrial font design rather than a playful one, conveying that the franchise was leaning more toward 2D again.
Super Mario Maker: Leaned more on a simple, flat, and heavy geometric font style due to the game’s construction premise, emphasizing that players build levels rather than play an actual Mario adventure.
The current 2026 design and The Super Mario Bros. Movie logo embrace the same design aesthetic with 3D letters, the same color assignment on the MARIO side, and dark sides and metallic edges, though the movie logo has extra wording and a blockbuster title-card vibe. The sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, retains the first film’s aesthetic while adding the word GALAXY in nebula pinks, purples, blues, stars, and sparkles. Furthermore, the Super Nintendo World logo lets the NINTENDO wording pop with an all-white color palette with deep shadows, while SUPER and WORLD emulate the usual color system of the classic Mario logos.
Celebration Milestone and Future Speculation
The quiet rebranding follows the recent conclusion of the Super Mario 40th anniversary. During that milestone window, Nintendo shared a message on its Japanese website thanking fans for joining in on the celebration while releasing a flurry of content, including the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2, new amiibo, Mario Tennis Fever, and DLC for Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. The company also recently added Super Mario Sunshine to the ‘Nintendo Classics’ GameCube library.
Despite the anniversary festivities and the widespread success of two highly valued films that cemented Mario’s shift into a global movie star, there is still no sign of the next big 3D Mario title, with fans waiting since October 2017 for a new fully 3D outing. Industry observers note that the combination of refreshed artwork and a newly updated logo comes while games on the Nintendo Switch system continue to thrive with the launch of titles like Mario Kart World, leaving fans keeping all fingers and toes crossed for a major announcement.
Ещё по этой теме
