The Nintendo Switch 2 has been revealed, and here’s everything we know so far

As the world transforms, console generations also change. Nintendo Switch He is more than seven years oldSo it’s time to update. There have been rumors of a Nintendo Switch 2 Swirling for yearsBut now we have some signs of life. Company The sequel has been officially revealed to the most successful home console of all time in a short trailer on January 16.

The Switch 2 looks functionally very similar to the original system, albeit with a larger screen, magnetic Joy-Con controls, and a sleeker design. The company also reconfirmed that the upcoming console will be backward compatible with previous versions of Switch games.

While the reveal confirmed some rumors and contains some interesting details for those who have been paying close attention, Nintendo is still largely holding its cards. We’ll have to wait until the special Nintendo Direct on April 2 to get all the exciting information. It is annoying that this date is Wednesday and not two days ago.

The Nintendo Switch 2 was announced on January 16

It was a rumor mill Hardly Suggested Nintendo will pull back the curtain on the Switch 2 on January 16, and that turns out to be the case.

The company has not changed the basic form factor. It is a portable controller with detachable Joy-Cons. The Switch 2 can be placed in a dock for big-screen gaming. However, there are some important differences from the original console.

The most obvious is that the next generation Joy-Cons will no longer slide into place mechanically. Instead, it will attach to the main unit magnetically. There is a small connector that will likely be used to charge the controllers and perhaps remove the need to tether them via Bluetooth. It’s not clear at this point whether the Joy-Cons from the original system will be compatible with the Switch 2.

One of the other big (and very welcome) changes is the addition of a second USB-C port at the top of the device. This should make it easier to connect accessories while the Switch 2 is docked. It’s great to see that Nintendo has kept the headphone jack as well. Let’s just hope that Bluetooth headphone support is live from the jump this time and Nintendo doesn’t leave everyone out expected Four years for that feature.

The kickstand gets an upgrade too. As with the Switch OLED, it runs the length of the console. But, judging by the trailer, this device appears to be fully adjustable, so you can adjust the viewing angle to suit you.

However, there are still a lot of unknowns regarding the upcoming console. We don’t really know the specs yet, or what type of display it uses. We also don’t know anything about battery life, UI or game play. We will likely learn a lot on April 2nd.

When will Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

2025. That’s all we know for sure at this point.

Nintendo is unlikely to release the console before the dedicated Direct on April 2, and not just because that’s at the start of Nintendo’s next fiscal year. However, accessory maker Genki, which has been a major source of leaks in recent months, It claims that the console will be released in April.

In any case, we should know the release date during the April 2nd live if we haven’t already known it by then.

When can I try Nintendo Switch 2?

Nintendo is planning a global promotional campaign to allow players to get hands-on with the console. These events start in New York and Paris from April 3 to 6, with other events to be held over the following two months. This lends credence to some suggestions that Nintendo will launch a Switch 2 in June.

Register tickets for Switch 2 Experience events in the US (in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris) Starts January 17 at 3pm ET It will remain open until January 26. A Nintendo Account is required to register. Nintendo will randomly select recipients of the free tickets.

The full list of Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events is as follows:

north america:

• New York, April 4-6, 2025

• Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025

• Dallas, April 25-27, 2025

• Toronto, April 25-27, 2025

Europe:

• Paris, April 4-6, 2025

• London, 11-13 April 2025

• Milan, April 25-27, 2025

• Berlin, April 25-27, 2025

• Madrid, May 9-11, 2025

• Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025

Oceania:

Asia:

• Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025

• Seoul, May 31 – June 1, 2025

• Hong Kong, to be announced

• Taipei, to be announced

Will Nintendo Switch 2 have some weirdness?

Everything we’ve seen so far regarding this console has been fairly conventional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That’s great, but will there be any of Nintendo’s unpredictable magic? maybe! There are two puzzling extensions that people can’t hide or wear.

Keen eyes will notice a new button on the bottom of the right Joy-Con. It is not yet clear what this does. Can I start voice chat while playing? Can controllers be calibrated? Is it possible to create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We’ll have to wait and see.

Now on the updated Joy-Cons. There appears to be a new sensor on the side connected to each controller. It seems a Just like an optical sensorwhich is what a computer mouse is used for. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse. Note: The trailer shows the Joy-Cons moving along a flat surface, connector side down and looking suspiciously like a mouse.

But why would anyone want this? I can think of three words. new Mario Paint.

He is Nintendo Switch 2 Backwards compatible?

The company confirmed in November 2024 that Nintendo Switch 2 will be backward compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all those old titles.

In the initial Nintendo Switch 2 press release, Nintendo confirmed that both physical and digital Switch games will work on the new system. However, it noted that “some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2.” More details about the games to be revealed will be revealed later.

What about specifications?

Rumors regarding the specifications are all over the place, so it’s hard to pinpoint them. We know one thing for sure: it will be more powerful than the old Switch hardware, which was already outdated in 2017. An analyst allegedly obtained the spec sheet from Korean United Daily News Switch 2 said so It will flaunt an octa-core Cortex-A78AE processorIt has 8 GB of random access memory (RAM) and 64 GB of eMMC internal storage. This tracks me down, because these specs will be as weak in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports Do not point to the console It will include 12 GB of RAM.

Another source indicates that the octa-core CPU will be housed inside a unit made by NVIDIA Tegra239 SoC (System on a Chip). Since the current adapter runs on an NVIDIA chip, this makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it’s the Switch 2’s new GPU that will be a major differentiator. The Switch 2 will certainly support DLSS, NVIDIA’s “super deep learning” upscaling technology, which will allow the console to display low-resolution games internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We’ve already written about… How perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 When this technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series in 2018.)

There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: will the system support it? Latest DLSS features such as frame generation? Will existing games be automatically ranked by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, a DLSS upgrade would be a huge leap over the primitive technologies available to Nintendo Switch developers.

As for the screen, there are many conflicting rumours. Early reports from reliable sources indicated that the Switch 2 will feature an 8-inch LCD screen. The Switch 2’s screen certainly looks larger than the original Switch’s in a side-by-side comparison in the trailer.

Some analysts suggested that this would be an OLED display, while others said it would be an OLED display Small LED screen. A Mini-LED display is essentially an LCD display that has a backlight made of tiny LEDs (surprise!) instead of edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making blacks blacker. I’m hedging my bet here. I think it will be a standard LCD display, to keep costs down, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later. However, Mini-LED displays are a bit cheaper than OLED displays, so that’s certainly a possibility at launch.

As for resolution, recent reports indicate that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. This is much better than the OG Switch. Meanwhile, it’s not yet clear whether the Switch 2 will offer performance or visual upgrades to the original Switch games.

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

We don’t have a lot of information regarding price but we do have a lot of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the “magic number” when it comes to Nintendo Console releases in recent years. The price of the Wii U also reached $300.

However, there are a lot of rumors circulating that Nintendo could raise the asking price for the Switch 2. I mentioned it would be $400Or maybe more expensive. However, the same analysts who said the console would be $400 were also sure it would be released by the end of 2024, and well, that didn’t happen.

Going back in history, there is some precedence for rising prices. The GameCube was $200, and the Wii was $250. The price of the Wii U and Switch has risen to $300, and the numbers want to go up. A $400 price tag would make it almost as expensive as the PS5 and Xbox Series

Once again, we should get price confirmation during April 2nd on Nintendo Direct.

Do we know about any launch games?

Not much. The trailer offered a sneak peek at the new Mario Kart game. Nintendo released Mario Kart 8 has been on the Wii U for over a decade and has been milking the cash cow ever since, selling over 64 million copies of the game across that console and Switch. It’s definitely time for a new entry!

It definitely is It’s been a long time since then We’re also getting a proper 3D Mario adventure, so a new adventure could serve as a launch title. This will act as a vendor for the system. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. After the introduction, we can expect something from Ubisoft and a title out of the ordinary like 1-2-Switch.

If there was a gimmick or hook included with the console, we’d also get a game that took advantage of that. Dual version of Metroid Prime 4just like Breath of the wild and Twilight princess Before that, it is also a possibility.

We’ll certainly learn more about the Switch 2’s launch lineup during the April 2 Nintendo Direct. You will definitely like it Set your alarm For this one.

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That’s everything we know about Nintendo Switch 2 today. We will update this article with rumors we trust and information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publication will be listed below.

Updated, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been updated to include rumors about a potential console announcement for this week.

Updated, January 16, 2025, 10:33 AM ET: This story has been updated to include official details about the Nintendo Switch 2 from the trailer and press release.