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We’ll learn more in April
Nintendo announced we’ll learn more about the console in a direct on April 2. The quick video released today was probably meant to slow down the constant flow of leaks.
Unfortunately, the company has yet to set a final release date for the console, so we’re waiting to learn more. Either way, this should slow the barrage of leaks about the Nintendo Switch 2 now that we know it’s coming (and have seen official images of the console).
BREAKING: Nintendo Switch 2 revealed
The rumors were true, the Nintendo Switch 2 has been revealed via a two-minute video that showcases some of the new features of the console, and confirms that it will launch in 2025. Watch it above, and stay tuned for more coverage and reactions…
Shop this Switch sale while you wait!
If you’re looking to fill the time until we hear about the Switch 2 (again, assuming all the rumors of a Jan. 16 announcement don’t prove to be a false dawn), why not engage in a little retail therapy? Right now there are plenty of deals on Switch games over on Amazon, the sales include The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Sonic X Shadow Generations and loads more. Remember the Switch 2 is reportedly set to be backwards compatible so pick up these savings even if you’re planning to upgrade when Nintendo’s new console launches (potentially) this year.
Could Switch 2 reveal be imminent?
I can’t work out what to do for my lunch today. Do I have a sandwich or some soup? Or perhaps I should Switch between the 2January 16, 2025
Christopher Dring, head of industry publication GamesIndustry.biz, has taken to X to post a not-so-subtle indication that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be announced very shortly. In a follow-up post, he claims “It’s getting pretty close”. Dring is based in the U.K. (where the current time is just past 12:30 pm) so with the hints towards a lunchtime announcement we can reasonably guess that the Switch 2 could be announced within the next hour. That is assuming Dring isn’t just joking around.
What does the “C” stand for?
The majority of Nintendo Switch 2 renders floating around online all have one new feature in common: A new button. This little oddity is found on the right Joy-Con, and is etched with the letter “C”, its exact purpose is one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the console right now (assuming it does prove to be part of the console).
Your first thought might be that “C” stands for “Capture”, but don’t forget that the current Nintendo Switch already has a dedicated capture button, which is located on the left Joy-Con, so it appears this button will be dedicated to a different function.
Over on Game Rant, it’s been claimed that the letter stands for “Campus”, which will be an entirely new feature on the Switch 2 that works similarly to the Wii U’s Miiverse. A sort of social hub, where you can create a profile and get gaming updates from friends. A whole button dedicated to this feature would indicate that Nintendo views it as a core part of the Switch 2 experience. However, this is all just rumors for now.
When to set your Alarmo!
Curious when Nintendo might reveal the Switch 2 today? You’re certainly not the only one. The big question on everybody’s lips right now is when exactly we can expect Nintendo to talk on the record about its next hardware. Without any word from the big N, we can only speculate, but reading the tea leaves, an announcement at 5 p.m. ET seems a reasonable guess – but remember this is a guess, I have no insider info.
5 p.m. would be 7 a.m. in Nintendo’s native Japan, making it a reasonable time for an announcement that will make a splash in the company’s two biggest markets, and even more encouragingly it’s also the time that Nintendo dropped the reveal trailer for the first Nintendo Switch in October 2016. The pieces of the puzzle all appear to fit.
However, this is Nintendo we’re talking about, so I don’t recommend you set your Alarmo smart clock to 5 p.m. quite yet. Nintendo has a habit of being unpredictable, and there’s every possibility the gaming giant will opt to do things differently this time. That’s why, for now, we’re keeping a close watch on all of Nintendo’s main communication channels, and will report back if/when there are any updates.
Let’s just hope today doesn’t prove to be a false dawn!
Nintendo Switch 2 launch games — here’s the BIG rumors
The Nintendo Switch rumor mill has been largely focused on the console itself (for obvious reasons) but the actual games we’ll be playing on Nintendo’s next console haven’t been entirely forgotten. There have been a few rumors suggesting the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Red Dead Redemption 2 could pop up on Switch 2, but of course, with a Nintendo platform, it’s all about the first-party exclusives.
The long-anticipated follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey is rumored to debut on Nintendo’s next console, which would make a lot of sense as it’s been 8 years since Mario’s last new 3D adventure (unless you count the Bowser’s Fury game included with the Switch port of the Wii U’s Super Mario 3D World). However, the big whisper from online tipsters is that the Switch 2 will launch alongside a brand-new Mario Kart.
If you thought the wait for a new 3D Mario was long, there hasn’t actually been a wholly new Mario Kart in more than 10 years. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch is a gussied-up remaster of Mario Kart 8 which launched on Wii U in May of 2014. So, we’re certainly overdue a return to the track with the Italian plumber and his pals.
As for other titles we could see, purely speculating here, I wouldn’t be shocked if Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ends up being a cross-gen game ala The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launching across the current Switch and its follow-up. And speaking of Zelda, perhaps Link’s latest adventure, Tears of the Kingdom, could be ported to the Nintendo Switch 2 with improved visuals and framerate performance.
Here’s the state of play
It’s currently 4:30 a.m. ET, let’s take stock of the current state of things as a new day begins, and (potentially) are just hours away from the Nintendo Switch 2 no longer being merely the thing of online speculation but a real confirmed console.
Numerous sources including the Nate the Hate podcast, VGC, Eurogamer and The Verge’s Tom Warren have suggested that today (January 16) is the day that Nintendo has earmarked to introduce the Switch 2 to the world. This reveal is expected to be focused on the hardware, with a software-centered deep dive in subsequent weeks.
There has been hope that Nintendo would tease this announcement yesterday (Jan. 15), as it did ahead of the unveiling of the first-generation Switch back in 2016. However, that ultimately didn’t happen. Instead, Nintendo’s social media accounts were preoccupied with promoting the new Donkey Kong Country Returns HD game.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that the Switch 2 announcement won’t still happen today, it just means that for now, we’re expecting it to drop out of the blue without prior warning. For now, we’re just keeping a very close watch on all Nintendo news channels for any hint that the world is about to be introduced to the Switch 2!
The biggest changes
As we wait to see what Nintendo might announce today, here’s what Rory Mellon wrote a few weeks back about the three rumored Nintendo Switch 2 upgrades that will make him order a new handheld right way. Those happen to be:
- A better design
- A performance boost
- Improve Joy-Con controllers
So what’s on your Nintendo Switch 2 wish list?
Nintendo may announce the Switch 2 today
After weeks of leaks, Nintendo is expected to announce the Switch 2 at some point today.
The company has not officially made any proclamations that a Nintendo Direct or some kind of trailer is will be released today, but all of the rumors point to January 16 being the day.
When the original Switch was announced, Nintendo released a trailer in October of 2016 with the official launch coming in March of that year. The company did tease the Switch in 2015 when it was still codenamed “NX.” And there was a technical specifications livestream in January 2017.
Presuming Nintendo follows a similar schedule. We should see the official launch of the Switch 2 in March of this year. Which lines up with various leaks and rumors that have come out in the last couple of months.
Today’s potentially the day. If Nintendo announces the new console Tom’s Guide will be here to provide all the details we can find.
Switch games on sale
While the Switch 2 is supposed to be backwards compatible, as confirmed by Nintendo, the original Switch is still a pretty good console.
With that in mind, whether you’re waiting for the sequel or have the OG, it may be worth picking up some of best Switch games right now.
Fortunately, a number of Switch games are on sale and we’ve picked the best deals for your wallet to get as many games on your Switch as you can.
The Switch 2 might cost $400
Despite being more powerful and bigger, various rumors have suggested that the Switch 2 will be priced around $300.
One rumor from earlier in January suggested that it will be around $400 CAD in Canada, which works out to about $300 in the United States.
This would be around the same price as the Switch and Switch OLED launch prices.
A Japanese analyst claimed that the Switch 2 would cost $400 with games hitting the unfortunate $70 price mark. That price would be about $100 over the first-generation. It would still be cheaper than the PS5 and Xbox Series X at launch, but not as significantly.
Hopefully, the price is closer to the original console than higher.
Where’s the weird?
Outside of its previous Gameboy lineups, Nintendo has managed to make every console a unique animal.
From the strange controller on the N64 to the portable GameCube and later the Wii and even the Wii U and its foreshadowing of the Switch, Nintendo has done more than just iterate on its previous consoles.
Every console Nintendo has released was derided for its seeming gimmick before literally changing the gaming industry.
So, it’s a tad disappointing that the leaks of the Nintendo Switch 2 point to a console that is merely bigger.
Still, I trust Nintendo and hope that the weird and the innovation is hiding in the Switch 2.
Is this the killer feature that would sell you on a Switch 2?
Nintendo is keeping quiet on the subject of the Switch 2 for now, which leaves a lot of room for rumor-mongering and speculation.
We’ve done our best to be picky and only pay attention to the Nintendo Switch 2 reports which come from trustworthy sources, but there’s no science to it—we’re predicting the future, and there’s a lot of people excited about what Nintendo might change for the Switch 2.
Here at Tom’s Guide, our own Tony Polanco is a Nintendo Switch skeptic, but there’s one rumored feature that could change his mind about buying a Nintendo Switch 2: Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling tech or something like it, which could be possible if the handheld really does live up to rumors that it’s running on an Nvidia chip.
Nintendo seems to tease fans
Drinking the milk, spilling the tea. #SuperMarioPartyJamboree pic.twitter.com/qwmvvT2ogzJanuary 14, 2025
We know Nintendo is aware of the leaks and the expectations for when they’ll announce anything about the Switch 2.
Today, the company’s X account seemingly teased fans with a simple “Drink the Milk, spilling the tea” post accompanied by a GIF from Super Mario Party Jamboree.
To say that the comments responding to the tweet lost their minds is a bit of an understandment. People immediately began clamoring for news on the Switch 2 and elbowing the Nintendo account “seeing what you did there” with the spilling the tea reference.
Add it to the pile of troll jobs the company has done on fans between the announcement of the Alarmo clock and the recent reveal of a Lego Nintendo set. They seem to know their teasing fans, especially the terminally online ones.
More power, more memory
A pair of leaks from the last couple of weeks may give us an idea of how much more powerful the Switch 2 will be compared to its predecessor.
At the start of the month, an image of the alleged motherboard for the Switch 2 was put up on Reddit.
That image revealed an Nvidia chip, which we think is built on Nvidia Ampere and Samsung’s 8nm mode. It seemingly confirmed that the Switch 2 might sport something like the Nvidia Tegra T239 chip, making it about as powerful as a PS4 or Ps4 Pro. Additionally, the motherboard appears to offer more RAM Slots, at least up to 12GB, tripling the current 4GB in the OG Switch. We do think all of this will allow for the Switch to offer a Nintendo version of DLSS upscaling.
Another leak from this week claimed that the Switch 2’s GPU will hit clock speeds of 560MHz when in portable mode suggesting a device that is more powerful than the Steam Deck and just slightly less than the PS4. That leaked also claimed double that performance when in docked mode.
As with most Nintendo products, the Switch 2 won’t break down the doors when it comes to power compared to many PCs or the PS5 and Xbox, but it sounds like Nintendo is making a pretty powerful little device that it will optimize to the nth degree.
When will the console actually arrive?
While we’re expecting to Nintendo to tease or unveil the Switch 2, it doesn’t answer when the console will actually hit store shelves and our hands.
The rumors have been varied on this. The soonest we might expect to see is in March with one Italian website claiming it will arrive on March 28.
On older rumor from a fairly reliable leaker reported that we wouldn’t see the console until April or May.
For the most part, some time in March seems to be the most likely launch month.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said that the company wants to beat scalpers by producing enough systems to meet demand.
“As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year,” said Furukawa.
Nintendo reportedly irate about the Switch 2 leaks
Our sister site, GamesRadar, reported that Nintendo is struggling with all of the Switch 2 leaks.
A pair of former PR managers, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, said on a podcast that Nintendo is “really mad — to the most severe level.”
Allegedly, as a company, Nintendo places a lot of import on surprise and maintaining surprise describing it as “so valuable and so important.”
Surprisingly, despite the claimed anger Nintendo has seemingly done little about the leaks. After the accessory maker Genki was found showing off a dummy model of the Switch 2 during CES 2025, the company reportedly sent lawyers after the accessory maker.
Beyond that, it’s not clear that Nintendo has pursued legal action against any other leakers. A curious move for a company that is widely known to be quite litigious in the gaming community.
What are we expecting to see?
A variety of dummy models claiming to be the Switch 2 have leaked over the past couple of months.
Based on those images and models, Nintendo appears to be making iterative changes to the Switch.
The Switch 2 appears to be larger, potentially with an OLED display, and new Joy-Con controllers that attach magnetically instead of on a rail like on the current Switch.
New Joy-Cons
Perhaps the biggest change that we’ve seen rumored is how the Joy-Con controllers connect to the body of the Switch 2.
Instead of the current rail system, instead the new controllers would slot into the console and hold with electromagnetic connectors.
Videos of the dummy models have shown what appears to be a locking mechanism that ensures you can’t just knock the controller off the console.
Additionally, with the increase in size of the console, it appears the Joy-Cons will also increase in size. A nice upgrade for those with larger hands, though even smaller hands could get cramped when holding a single Joy-Con.
