Summary
- Nintendo has yet to officially announce the follow-up to the Switch, but rumors, leaks, and a recent patent suggest that a direct successor is in development and could launch next year.
- The success and popularity of the Switch make it unlikely that Nintendo will deviate from its design philosophies with the new console. President Furukawa's statement about supporting the Switch through 2024 further supports the idea of an upcoming release.
- Rumors indicate that the new console may have features like NVIDIA DLSS compatibility and backward compatibility with original Switch games. Maintaining the hybrid nature of the Switch and ensuring backward compatibility would make it a more appealing upgrade for current owners.
Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the follow-up to the massively successful Switch hybrid console, but its existence is all but confirmed. A combination of rumors, leaks, and a recent patent filed by Nintendo have convinced many that a direct successor to the Switch is in development, possibly launching as early as next year.
The Switch is one of the best-selling consoles of all time, and Nintendo's second-best-selling device, edged out only by the Nintendo DS. Given its massive popularity, especially across multiple demographics, it seems unlikely that Nintendo will pivot away from the design philosophies established with the original Switch. Again, while Nintendo hasn't confirmed anything about its next flagship console, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has stated that the company will continue to support the Switch through March 2024, leading many to believe that the next Nintendo console will release sometime next year. Rumors have suggested a number of intriguing features for the theoretical device, including NVIDIA DLSS compatibility and backward compatibility with original Switch games.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Is Practically Confirmed
With so many rumors and leaks regarding the next Switch, it's interesting that Nintendo hasn't yet made any official statements about it. Of course, barring some major change in gaming technology or the games industry, it can generally be assumed that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will all release new platforms every few years; launching new hardware is a key part of the business strategies of these companies, as it allows them to keep up with advancements in tech, introduce new features, and remain competitive.
While it doesn't take an industry insider to predict that a new console will drop at some point in the future, there are two points that are somewhat less obvious: the release date of the Nintendo's next console and its similarity to the Switch. It's these points that are the focus of the leaks, rumors, and speculation about Nintendo's next console. Sony and Microsoft consoles have drastically improved over their predecessors in terms of power, but the fundamentals of their design and core features have remained mostly the same. Nintendo has taken something of an inverse approach with its consoles, offering incremental increases in hardware capabilities while making drastic changes to fundamental design with things like touch screens and motion controls.
That said, it would be surprising if Nintendo were to alter the core design and selling point of the Switch, that being its hybrid nature. It's likely that the new console would be more successful if it were, generally speaking, an enhanced version of its predecessor, only adding rather than removing or changing. Backwards compatibility with the Switch is also a major consideration, as owners have amassed large digital libraries on the device, and ensuring that those games are still playable on the new console would make it a more appealing purchase for these customers.
This leaves the issue of the release date. The belief that the Switch 2 will launch sometime next year stems from a few areas. One reason to believe in this 2024 release date has to do with the aforementioned comments from Furukawa about supporting the Switch through March 2024; if the company had no plans to release its new console until 2025 or later, Furukawa likely would have named a later date when discussing Switch support. Rumors about Switch 2 appearing at Gamescom and other major events also support the theory that a device is far along in its development.
With so much compelling evidence, it might seem strange that Nintendo hasn't officially announced the existence of its next console. There are a few possible reasons for this, but one explanation could have to do with Switch sales; Switch sales could slow following the announcement of a new console, as prospective buyers may be encouraged to wait for the new device rather than invest in the soon-to-be-outdated one. It's understandable that Nintendo would want to keep this trend at bay for now.