It's been an open secret in the gaming industry, but we now have official confirmation: A new Nintendo Switch has been in the works for some time.
This year marks the ninth anniversary of the original Nintendo Switch, which was launched in 2015. While there have been some updates and improvements to the console since then, they haven’t been revolutionary. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the new and more powerful Nintendo Switch 2. They're done waiting. The Switch 2 is coming and, according to Nintendo, it will be released in less than a year.
Release date. Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo, took to the company’s official X account to confirm that “we will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015.” To clarify, Nintendo’s fiscal year ends next March. This gives the company some leeway as to when it'll make the announcement, but at least we now have a deadline.
Nintendo’s tweet confirming the Switch successor’s launch.
Nintendo Direct in June. In addition, Nintendo has announced that there will be a Nintendo Direct in June “regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024,” including new games and releases. However, the company has also stated that “there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation.”
What to expect from the Switch 2. Nintendo still has a few months to go before it takes the stage and introduces the new console. While specs haven't been released, there are some rumors and leaks that give us an idea of what to expect.
According to this unofficial information, the new console is expected to be larger (8 inches) than the current Switch. However, it purportedly won’t be as large as the Steam Deck. The new console's Joy-Con controllers are said to be magnetic, though current Joy-Con controllers will still be compatible with the Switch 2 via Bluetooth. Some state that the Switch 2 will also adopt new cartridges.
It’s worth noting that games made for the Nintendo Switch 2 (official name to be confirmed) will reportedly not be compatible with the original Switch. However, it's not all bad news. Gamers will purportedly be able to use original Switch cartridges in the new console.
NVIDIA, again. The new console is expected to be powered by the NVIDIA Tegra T239 processor, which is based on the Ampere architecture. With this new processor, the new Nintendo console will be more powerful than its predecessor. One of its key features will be compatibility with DLSS, NVIDIA’s AI rescaling system. However, we’ll have to wait for more information to see how these rumors pan out.
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