Super Mario and Raving Rabbids to team up at E3

A crossover Nintendo Switch game featuring characters from the Super Mario franchise and Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids series is set to appear at the Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 games show next month, according to reports.

A teaser image posted on WWG shows Mario, Princess Peach and Luigi surrounded by wild Raving Rabbid versions of themselves. The characters sport high-tech weapons, suggesting the game, dubbed Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, will be a departure from the Italian plumber's traditional platformer style.

Details remain scarce, but WWG says the new title could take the form of a "strategy RPG" (role playing game). It adds that more news is expected at E3.

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NintendoWorldReport says each hero will have "unique play styles" and carry weapons that can be upgraded.

It also says players can expect a 20-hour story mode and a release date between August and September on the Nintendo Switch.

This will not be the first time the Mario franchise has collaborated with game series from other developers.

In 2008, Nintendo and Sega teamed up to produce Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, in which players compete in various athletics events as heroes from the two franchises.

Last year, Nintendo released a downloadable Mario expansion to the world-building Minecraft game on the Wii U. The additional content included a host of Mario landmarks and character skins. A version for the all-in-one Switch console launched earlier this month.