After weeks of leaks and wild speculation, Nintendo finally announced Switch 2the long-awaited successor to its extremely popular hybrid handheld console. The game maker today released a two-minute teaser with the first look at the console, a handheld that looks very similar to the original Switch, but bigger.
Nintendo also announced on Thursday that it will hold a live presentation to provide more details about the Switch on April 2. In a video announcement, Nintendo debuted a larger display with a pair of black and pink and black and blue Joy-Cons. The video also seems to tease a new one Mario Kart game with the footage displayed for just a few seconds.
The handheld will play both Switch 2 and Switch games, Nintendo said in a press release, but added that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.”
The the original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, at a time when Nintendo was still recovering from poor sales its previous console, the Wii U. However, where the Wii U failed to find an audience, the Switch soared. In 2023, he became the third best seller console of all time behind Nintendo’s DS and PlayStation 2, a position it still holds.
By 2024, however, the console seemed to have peaked. The sale was falling headlongand rumors were already spreading about the entry of the next generation. Almost a year ago, when Nintendo announced Pokémon Legends: GO would come to its “systems” in 2025, fans speculated that a new console was on the horizon. (Never mind that the plural “systems” here could only refer to the Switch’s Lite and OLED models.)
Last May, the company promised to reveal the new console by April 2025. Last month, details and alleged photos of the device leaked from the manufacturerand later on platforms like Reddit and X.
Nintendo diehards, at least had fun with the leak – whatever by reading tarot cards to set the publication date or fake features like “imported Italian air” or screws. “It has 10 slots. So find out on January 10,” joked one Reddit user. More designed “calling circle” full of old games and Mario and Luigi figurines.
The next generation Switch will be released into a much different console ecosystem than its predecessor. In 2022, Steam released its handheld Steam Deckwhich allows gamers to play multiple PC games on the go. During CES this year, Microsoft’s “next generation” vice president, Jason Ronald, hinted The Verge that there will be updates to the Windows gaming experience this year. The head of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, also alluded to the possibility of a Xbox handheld device.