London, UK – Reports surfaced online claiming that the release date for the Nintendo Switch 2 has been pushed to the first quarter of 2025. The move is said to ensure that the console’s launch lineup will boast a wide array of titles. The news comes after Brazilian games journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe stated that the next console is now slated for an early 2025 release, still within the 2024 financial year.
Eurogamer has also heard similar rumors from industry sources, though they have not been able to confirm them. The original plan was for the Nintendo Switch 2 to be released later this year, but a shift to an early 2025 release would allow for more time to prepare the launch lineup, while still falling within Nintendo’s upcoming financial calendar.
VGC reported that two development sources working on Switch 2 games are aiming for a Q1 2025 launch, although they could not confirm if this was due to a delay. Currently, Nintendo has only a few games set to release for the existing Switch in 2024, including a Princess Peach title in March and ports of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Paper Mario: A Thousand Year Door. Metroid Prime 4 is also listed for launch as a Switch 1 game, with a “TBA” date.
In addition to the rumors, a GDC industry report revealed that hundreds of developers are now working on projects set to launch on the Switch 2. This suggests that despite Nintendo’s denial of the reports as rumors, there is significant industry interest and activity surrounding the upcoming console.
The reported shift in the release date comes after previous reports indicated that Nintendo had been demoing the Switch 2 hardware capabilities to developers, showing tech demos of how the system is designed to run. This was followed by the sharing of early Switch 2 details with key publishing partners at the end of 2022, as discussed by Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick in an email published online last year as part of the FTC’s court case concerning the company’s acquisition by Microsoft.
Despite these developments, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa labeled these reports as merely “rumors” in a newspaper interview last November. Despite the conflicting statements, it is clear that there is significant anticipation and activity surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2, with developers already working on projects for its launch.