Nintendo’s next console is inevitable. But it looks like the lofty expectation that the company would announce the successor to the ultra-successful Switch and release it in the same financial year is up in smoke, according to industry insiders. And with Nintendo’s holiday season looking as strong as it does, its probably for the better.
Earlier this year, Nintendo announced plans to reveal the Switch 2 during the current financial year. The announcement meant that the console would be shown sometime before March 31. Since it was heavily rumored that the console’s release was delayed from the end of 2024 to next year, many hopeful Nintendo fans anticipated the hardware would be available for purchase very shortly after its initial showcase.
However, according to GameIndustry.biz reporter Chris Dring, developers are now being told not to expect a release sooner than April 2025.
“No developer I’ve spoken to expects it to be launching this financial year,” Dring said on the GI Podcast. “In fact, they’ve been told not to expect it in the [current] financial year. A bunch of people I spoke to hope it’s out in April or May time, still early next year, not late.”
Next year is already looking like an exceptionally busy year for video games. Dring suggested that the Spring release window developers are hopeful for is in response to avoiding the likes of PlayStation’s Death Stranding 2 and Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6, both high-profile releases that are expected to spur industry growth in the back half of 2025.
“I don’t think any of us wants a late launch for Switch 2 because we all want a new Nintendo console[...] and we don’t want that crunch of Grand Theft Auto 6 and Switch and all that kind of stuff on top of each other,” he said.
As disappointing as people looking forward to Nintendo’s next big thing may be, the delay seems like a much more probable reflection of what to expect. While the sales for the Switch original Switch are beginning to trail off, the console is still chugging along just fine. And with new games like the Dragon Quest remakes, The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, and Metroid Prime 4 on the horizon going into next year, there’s no reason for Nintendo to rush things.
And while the public seemingly knows what to expect from a Switch 2 (more capable hardware, a continuation of the hybrid concept that made the original such a success), building actual demand and anticipation is an important part of any hardware launch. Giving the reveal some room to breathe before putting the new console in players’ hands is probably for the best. Developers getting some time to work on whatever they have cooking for its launch is a nice bonus that will benefit players as well.
For now, Nintendo has had no shortage of successes in the current gaming landscape. The original Switch recently hit 143 million units in sales, just 21 million shy of the best-selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2.
