The Nintendo Switch 2 is officially on the horizon. With Nintendo confirming a 2025 release date and a special Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 2, anticipation is building for the successor to one of the most successful gaming consoles in history.
Official Confirmation and First Look
Nintendo officially unveiled the Switch 2 in a brief trailer on January 16, 2025. The reveal confirmed what many fans had suspected – the new console maintains the hybrid form factor of its predecessor but introduces several notable changes.
The most significant visible difference is the magnetic attachment system for the Joy-Con controllers, replacing the mechanical rail system of the original Switch. The trailer also showcased a larger display, a fully adjustable kickstand spanning the length of the device, and the addition of a second USB-C port on top of the console – a welcome improvement for connecting accessories while the system is docked.
Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with both physical and digital Switch games, though it noted that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.” The company plans to provide more details on compatibility later.
Release Date and Price
While Nintendo has officially stated the console will release in 2025, no specific date has been announced. Industry insiders and analysts, including games insider Nate the Hate, have suggested a potential launch window of May or June 2025.
A former Nintendo employee, who was reportedly a sales lead in Nintendo’s sales and retail department, speculated on the timing: “I think we’ll see a June launch, I’m thinking probably mid-June, maybe a little bit later than that. But definitely before the end of the summer that thing’s coming out.” He explained the strategic timing: “They’re going to want the system to be out before the end of the summer. I would say at the start of the summer – end of school year, so you’ve got the kids in school talking about what they’re excited for.”
As for price, Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa provided some hints during an earnings call, mentioning that the company is considering “the affordability that our customers expect from Nintendo products.” Analysts who spoke to IGN predict a price around $400 (£330), which would be $50 more than the current Switch OLED model in the US.
Several retailer leaks have suggested various price points. An Italian retailer listed the console at €389.99 (£325), while a Costco Canada employee revealed a placeholder listing priced at $499.99 CAD – approximately $50 CAD more than the current Switch OLED in Canada.
The former Nintendo sales lead warned against putting stock in retailer listings at this stage, stating that retailers “know nothing” about the actual price and will likely learn it around the same time as consumers. He personally speculated: “I can’t imagine it being too much more than $400… maybe $450 is the highest I can imagine.”
Design and Hardware
The Nintendo Switch 2 appears slightly larger than its predecessor based on side-by-side comparisons in the reveal trailer. Reports from OnLeaks and 91mobiles claim the new console features an 8.4-inch display, though Nintendo has not confirmed this specification.
The Joy-Con controllers connect magnetically rather than sliding into rails, potentially offering greater stability and possibly addressing the notorious Joy-Con drift issues that plagued the original model. A mysterious new square button has appeared on the right Joy-Con below the Home button, though its function remains unknown.
Interestingly, the trailer briefly showed a Joy-Con sliding across a surface like a computer mouse, suggesting potential new control methods. Patents filed by Nintendo in February 2025 further support this possibility, showing Joy-Cons functioning similar to a computer mouse.
The dock has been redesigned with a sleeker look featuring rounded corners rather than the sharper edges of the original Switch dock.
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Technical Specifications
While Nintendo hasn’t revealed official specifications, multiple sources suggest the Switch 2 will continue to use Nvidia technology. An Nvidia employee previously stated that the console would use a new Tegra chip, specifically the Tegra T239.
According to leaks reported by Moore’s Law is Dead, the T239 processor features an Ampere GPU architecture and uses Samsung’s 8nm process node with either 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of 128-bit LPDDR5 memory. This could potentially make it comparable in power to the PlayStation 4.
Nintendo has not officially confirmed support for 4K resolution, but a 2021 patent filed by the company suggested work on 4K upscaling technology. Reports from VGC claim that demonstration units shown at Gamescom included an improved version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at higher framerates and resolution than the original, as well as “The Matrix Awakens” demo using Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technology and advanced ray tracing.
Photos of alleged prototype components leaked on a Chinese website in September 2024 suggested the console could have 256GB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and HDMI 2.1 ports. Most analysts agree the system won’t match the power of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X but should be more comparable to the Steam Deck.
Upcoming Games
Nintendo has only officially revealed one game for the Switch 2 so far – a new Mario Kart title shown in the announcement trailer. Keen observers noted the racing footage featured up to 24 players on a single track, double the 12-racer limit of previous Mario Kart games. The tracks also appeared wider to accommodate the increased number of racers.
We know that both Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 are scheduled for 2025 releases, making them likely launch titles. Nintendo has also planned 2025 releases for Professor Layton and the New World of Steam and a Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D remake.
Several third-party titles have been announced, including:
- Yooka-Replayee (Playtonic Games)
- Littlelands (Rafael Martin and Kyle Creamer)
- Bestiario (Wiggin Industries)
- Synth Beasts (Radhood Advance)
- Aurascope (Nick Oztok)
- My Time at Evershine (Pathea Games)
- Secret Forest (Zelcar Games)
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has hinted at the possibility of GTA 6 coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, though technical limitations may result in a scaled-back version.
Hands-On Experience Events
Nintendo is organizing a worldwide roadshow allowing gamers to get hands-on experience with the Switch 2 before its release. These events begin in New York and Paris on April 3-6, 2025, with additional events scheduled through June 2025 in locations including Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and Seoul.
Registration for tickets to these free events opened on January 17 and closed on January 26, with Nintendo randomly selecting recipients from those who registered with a Nintendo Account.
The Bottom Line
The Nintendo Switch 2 represents the next evolution of Nintendo’s hybrid console concept rather than a radical departure. With improved hardware, larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons, and backward compatibility, it aims to build upon the success of its predecessor while addressing some of its limitations.
The April 2 Nintendo Direct should provide much-needed clarity on specifications, price, release date, and launch titles, giving fans a clearer picture of what to expect from Nintendo’s next generation of gaming hardware.