It’s now been over six years since the original Nintendo Switch first launched, and yet, there’s still no official word on a Nintendo Switch 2.
Many have speculated that a successor to the Nintendo Switch could arrive before the end of 2024, although with the original Switch still selling so well, there’s certainly no guarantee of this.
We’ve listed all of the Nintendo Switch 2 rumours we’ve heard so far, as well as listing all of the improvements we’d like to see.
Release date
The Nintendo Switch 2 has no confirmed release date, but a release feels iminent given that it’s been six years since the Nintendo Switch launched, and almost two years since its last revision in the Switch OLED.
While we don’t anticipate the device hitting store shelves this year, we wouldn’t be too surprised if Nintendo does announce its intention to shift towards next-gen gaming fairly soon.
It’s possible that a Switch 2 could launch in 2024, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for an announcement in the next few months.
Price
In the same vein as the release date, Nintendo has been tight-lipped about how much this new console will cost. With the original Nintendo Switch priced at £279 and the Switch Lite costing £199, we expect a sequel to cost over £300.
We will be updating this article when we know more about the pricing, but we do expect it to cost more than all the Switch consoles that came before it.
Specs
The Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to boast improved specs over its predecessors, although we don’t have any concrete details on the internals yet. Since the original console is powered by the Nvidia Tegra X1 processor, we expect the new console to run on an upgraded version of this.
The next iteration of the Nintendo Switch 2 has long been expected to support a 4K resolution. Back in 2021, a data miner (via Wccftech) found references to a Realtek chip that has support for 4K UHD multimedia.
Bloomberg has also reported that the future console will support Nvidia’s DLSS technology. Put simply, DLSS uses artificial intelligence and clever upscaling technology to boost the frame rate of a game without impacting the visual quality. DLSS is currently used by Nvidia’s high-end graphics cards like the RTX 4000 and RTX 3000 series and has been well received by gamers.
DLSS would make sense on a console like the Switch as it could help to make up for the limited hardware and boost the frame rate high enough to make 4K gaming possible.
Taking a closer look at the 4K rumours, Bloomberg alleged that the company is asking developers to make new Nintendo Switch games 4K ready in docked mode. Bloomberg also claims that up to 11 game studios have had access to an official development kit that featured 4K support.
However, the Nintendo Switch OLED has since launched, and didn’t pack any of these upgraded specs. It’s assumed that Nintendo was planning on giving the OLED model improved specs, but changed plans before launch.
This means it’s difficult to know whether these scrapped plans will be re-used for the eventual successor of the Nintendo Switch. It’s entirely possible that Nintendo decides to go in a different direction altogether.
Games
Since the new console has yet to be announced, there are no official games for the Switch 2 yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on what could be arriving.
Nintendo has been suspiciously quiet about a potential follow up to Super Mario Odyssey. Odyssey was released fairly early into the Switch’s life cycle, and even though Breath of the Wild is soon getting a follow up with Tears of the Kingdom, there’s no sign of a sequel to Mario’s globe-trotting adventure which might indicate it as being earmarked as a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title.
Nintendo has a wide breadth of IPs to choose from when it comes to launching future games. There are plenty of genres that the company could dip into, with many opportunities for sequels that fans would be excited to see. We will be sure to update this article when we know more about the potential games for the Nintendo Switch 2.
