Nintendo Switch 2, which can’t even be called that, will be released in 2025. That’s what we think. It will run with some games, but we don’t know which ones. We have a relatively complete, if hazy, picture of what the console will be – essentially a modern, more powerful Switch – but we don’t know what, if anything, will set it apart from its predecessor beyond that.
There is no doubt that the release of Switch 2 will be one of two shocking gaming events in 2025, alongside Grand Theft Auto 6 (assuming the Rockstar game launches in fall 2025). But for a console that reportedly could launch as early as March or April, it’s surprising how much information about Switch 2 remains uncertain: the details, of course, but also the bigger picture. What threatens Nintendo? What could go wrong? And how will the rest of the industry react?
Let’s start by summarizing what we know so far and what we don’t know before asking some of these existential questions.
Here’s what we know for sure about Switch 2
Here’s everything Nintendo has recorded about its next console:
- Exists
- It will be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch games
- It will offer the Nintendo Switch Online service
- It will exploit Nintendo accounts
- Nintendo will officially announce the console in the current financial year, i.e. before the end of March 2025
- That’s all!
Here’s what we think we know about Switch 2
Thanks to well-sourced reports and leaks, we managed to get a fairly clear picture of the modern machine before its presentation:
- It’s called Nintendo Switch 2.
- It will be released in 2025. Nintendo planned to release it before the end of March, but there are indications that this date has been postponed and Nintendo wants to avoid stock shortages and prepare the software for launch.
- It will be a portable hybrid console with detachable controllers and a dock to connect it to your TV, just like the original Switch. (This is strongly supported by the backwards compatibility announcement.)
- It will be compatible with some of the Switch’s accessories, including the original Joy-Con controllers (even if it can’t physically connect or charge them).
- The Switch 2’s joy-cons will attach magnetically, rather than using the Switch’s slide clip system, and will feature hall-effect sticks and a few extra buttons.
- It has a cartridge slot like the Switch and supports physical releases.
- It is larger and has an 8-inch 1080p LCD screen.
- In terms of power, it will be close to the Xbox One/PlayStation 4 generation of home consoles. However, thanks to Nvidia’s custom hardware that allows for machine learning-based upscaling and even ray tracing, it could come surprisingly close to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 experience .
- The basic internal memory will be 256 GB and can be expanded using a microSD card. It has two USB-C ports.
Here are some pretty solid guesses about the Switch 2 games
It’s worth noting that there haven’t been any leaks or well-documented reports about the Switch 2 software. But knowing what we do with internal development at Nintendo, we can make some educated guesses.
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyondconfirmed as a Switch game, it may actually be a cross-generational launch title for Switch 2, along the lines of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U and Switch) i The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube and Wii).
- Some first-party Nintendo games that aren’t necessarily launch titles but will likely appear early in the machine’s life: a modern Mario Kart, a modern 3D Mario title, a modern Animal Crossing game, and the long-rumored Zelda remasters The Waking Wind AND Twilight Princess. We can make this guess because of the obviously long gaps between the last releases of some of these series; it’s been ten years since the all-new Mario Kart came out, seven years since then Super Mario Odysseyand four years after selling 46 million copies Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Here’s what we definitely don’t know about Switch 2
- How much will it cost
- Exact release date
- All confirmed games (apart from a few smaller third party releases)
- What, if any, tricks will it take to differentiate it from the Switch
Seriously though. How many will be does it cost?
This is the massive one. Nintendo is in a good position; The Switch has created a huge install base for the company, and Nintendo has all of its beloved properties and decades of trust in its brand to build on. But like all tech companies, it is currently under intense pricing pressure, and the wrong move could spell disaster.
The Switch launched for $299 back in 2017, and since then the official sticker price hasn’t dropped a cent. This is in line with changing pricing trends – due to chip shortages, inflation, and slowing technological progress, the price of this generation of consoles has not dropped as much as previous generations. (It’s also true that demand for the Switch remains so consistent that Nintendo doesn’t required lower prices and launch Switch Lite at a lower price.)
In this situation, Nintendo will have to figure out how to package more advanced technology while keeping the price reasonable. It’s unlikely that the Switch 2 will be priced lower than $349, which is the current cost of the OLED Switch model. $399 seems like a sheltered bet – it’s the same price as the basic Steam Deck. What’s more, Nintendo will face uncomfortable comparisons with the modern wave of handheld PCs (Steam Deck OLED costs $549; Asus ROG Ally costs $499) and risks being priced out of the established family market.
What threatens Nintendo?
Almost everything. As I said, Nintendo is doing quite well right now, but the gaming market is changing rapidly. Game production costs are skyrocketing without market growth to cover it, margins are being eaten away everywhere, and established console hardware platforms are losing influence. Nintendo’s business model – selling hardware and the exclusive games you can play on it – is emblematic of the venerable ways, but now even Sony publishes on PCs. If Switch 2 goes wrong, Nintendo will likely have to face the ultimate humiliation of becoming a third-party publisher.
At the same time, Nintendo is better protected from the winds of change than anyone else. It has huge cash reserves, extremely valuable intellectual property, a growing multimedia force and an inventive approach to technology that helps lower the costs of both hardware and software. Perhaps it will last another generation on the upper.
Nintendo has typically taken an creative approach to its hardware platforms, which has worked more often (Wii, DS, Switch) than not (Wii U). But this isn’t necessarily the time to innovate.
The Switch was Nintendo’s attempt to lock in its dominant position in handheld gaming while keeping one foot at home, and it was a runaway success. Since then, Valve has approached the same problem from the other side with Steam Deck – what if you could take your home game library with you on the go? — and we have proven that it is possible and that there is great demand for it. Currently, Microsoft and Sony are reportedly planning portable consoles.
The dedicated mobile space is about to become more aggressively competitive than ever, and Nintendo needs to exploit the Switch 2 to dig in and defend its position. That’s why it has already announced backward compatibility, so owners of the 140 million Switches sold by Nintendo can rest assured that their libraries will survive. Perhaps for the first time in a company’s history, continuity is paramount and the company cannot afford to wander off on a tangent.
That’s why Switch 2 sounds like it’s Nintendo’s most conservative design since the GameCube. It’s just has succeed.
