Nintendo Switch 2 could be announced this week: rumors (and facts) so far

With CES 2025 finally behind us, it’s time to move on to the next round of big hardware announcements. Rumors have emerged over the past few weeks, pointing to an imminent announcement for the next generation of Nintendo’s hugely successful hybrid Switch console.

In particular, word from the strong industry Eurogamer (Among other things) it links the announcement to January 16 – that is, a Thursday. If the big reveal is indeed coming this week, it suggests a more gradual announcement. The company will likely distribute the information one Nintendo Direct at a time rather than one big keyword containing specs, availability, and launch titles.

We know for sure that the company had its sights set on a first-quarter announcement for the Switch 2 — specifically, before the end of March 2025. One of the other major things Nintendo has confirmed is the device’s backwards compatibility with its predecessor. That’s good news for the 150 million or so who bought their first Switch.

The big question at the moment is how big of an upgrade we’re talking about here in the end. Nintendo’s console names largely indicated major departures for each subsequent generation. With a few exceptions – such as the ill-fated Wii U – things were much less straightforward than, say, Sony’s PlayStation.

It’s reasonable to expect the Switch 2 to be an evolution of the existing product, rather than a meaningful departure. After all, Nintendo spent some time in the wild before launching the Switch in March 2017. The convertible form factor and some truly excellent titles were exactly what the company needed to re-establish itself in a very different gaming landscape after the Wii U’s stumbles.

There’s no doubt that the new console will be better than the original’s specs, but it’s also important to temper expectations, given Nintendo’s history. The days of competing with rivals on items like the GPU are decades behind the company.

The other rumors are just that: magnetic Joy-Cons and a jump in screen size to 8 inches up from 6 on the classic Switch and 7 on the Switch OLED, which arrived at the end of 2021. Between that console upgrade and the handheld-only, budget model it introduced Nintendo with the Switch Lite in 2019, there have been upgrades along the way.

(Nintendo Switch 2 not pictured)