Nintendo Highlighted 66 Titles For The Switch 2, Foreshadowing Massive Game Library

Nintendo fully unveiled the Switch 2 today, and if you haven't read our coverage of the system's announcement you should go ahead and do so, as this post assumes you already know about some of those things. If you're in a hurry, the short version is that the Switch 2 launches on June 5th, is fully backward compatible, and will cost you $449 by itself or $499 with Mario Kart World.


Mario Kart World (pictured, top and above) was the first exclusive game announced for the Switch 2, and it is looking pretty sweet. It's a fully open-world racer that takes place in a contiguous world. The courses are simply placed in the game world, and you actually drive from course to course between races. There's also a free roam mode to explore the game world, and you can do this in multiplayer. There's even a photo mode to take pictures with your friends while out exploring the game world. Nintendo's sharing more details about this one in a separate Direct on April 17th.


Here's a list of all the first-party games coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 at or near launch. They're divided into two types: Exclusive titles and Upgrades. Exclusive titles are those that will only be available on the Switch 2, period, while the titles marked as 'Upgrade' are games that either have or will have a Switch 2 version alongside the Switch 1 version.


Arguably the most exciting thing shown in the Direct, at least for Nintendo fans, was Donkey Kong Bananza, the gluttonous gorilla's first proper 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64. The trailer shows off remarkable terrain deformation and physics-based gameplay. Donkey Kong has a new design that calls back to earlier, pre-Rare designs, and while his look might be divisive, the cartoony style of this game looks immediately charming.


Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour appears to be a tutorial of sorts for the system, designed to help players new to the machine understand its capabilities and how to use its functions. It's a pretty cool idea, although we have to wonder if it isn't also secretly targeted at developers who may need some help integrating the Switch 2's many unique hardware capabilities into their games. Notably, it isn't going to be free, unlike Sony's similar title Astro's Playroom which came pre-installed on PlayStation 4 systems.


The Switch 2 upgrades aren't going to be free, either. Nintendo didn't elaborate on how much they would cost, but presented it like this: if you already own a Switch game, you can get the Switch 2 version for a lower price than buying the full Switch 2 version of the game. These Upgrade titles will have physical and digital versions, although that may not necessarily be the case for all future Upgrade titles.


In some cases, these upgrades come along with significant gameplay additions. The Jamboree TV expansion for Super Mario Party Jamboree, besides being a technical upgrade, also adds new mini-games and gameplay features that take advantage of the Switch 2's new hardware, like mouse mode on the Joy-Cons and the optional Switch 2 Camera.


The two Zelda titles on the Switch are getting a new feature called Zelda Notes where you can link the game with your phone and access various features like GPS navigation for secrets, or the ability to save and share your Ultrahand constructions in Tears of the Kingdom with your friends, who can import them directly into the game and use them.


Kirby & the Forgotten Land: Star Crossed World is an upcoming expansion for the beloved pink blob's most recent outing that adds new gameplay content as well as technical upgrades to the title. Just like Super Mario Party Jamboree's Jamboree TV expansion, It'll only be available on Switch 2 despite that the original game is a Switch game. Nintendo also teased a sequel to Kirby Air Ride known as Kirby Air Riders, with series creator Masahiro Sakurai back at the helm, but didn't offer up any other information.


An unfortunate reality of the Wii U and to a lesser degree the original Switch was that they suffered a bit from poor third-party developer support. That is absolutely not going to be an issue with the Switch 2. Nintendo has rounded up basically everyone who's anyone to publish games for its new handheld. We're going to take a look at just a few of the announced games coming in June either along with or shortly after the handheld.


Hogwarts Legacy is already on the Switch, and the developer didn't explain whether it would be available as a paid upgrade or if you'll have to purchase the whole game again, but it wouldn't surprise us if it were the latter. The version of Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch 1 is considerably neutered from the full game, while this version appears to be very similar to the PC version, including support for the Switch 2's mouse mode.


Street Fighter 6 skipped the original Switch on its launch back in 2023 due to hardware limitations, but no such struggles exist on the Switch 2. Not only is Street Fighter 6 making its way to Nintendo's new handheld, it's coming along with a few features specific to this version, including, incredibly, motion controls. Street Fighter 6 went pretty hard on attempting to bridge the gap to new players, so this is really just par for the course.


A prequel game that sets up the story for the rest of the games, Yakuza 0 is a particularly beloved release in the long-running Yakuza (or "Like a Dragon") series because of its 1980s setting and how it depicts the characters in their youth. This new version includes English dubbing for the first time, as well as new cutscenes and gameplay changes that should make it worth a play for old and new fans alike.


Ever since Nintendo quit making F-Zero games, Shin'en has been carrying the antigravity racing torch with the Fast series, originating with Fast Racing League on the original Wii. Fast Fusion is the latest game in the series and impressively, claims to offer a smooth 60 FPS experience in 4K HDR resolution. Extremely bold claims for a handheld, although Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is apparently also hitting that mark. Fast Fusion will support basically every feature of the Switch 2 console, including Game Sharing, four-player splitscreen, and more.


Most of the games shown today are coming this year, with only a couple listed for 2026 and just a handful that gave no dates at all. Let's look at a few of the most notable titles from this list, starting with a game that is absolutely certain to move systems.


Nintendo must have backed up a dump truck full of money to FromSoftware headquarters after seeing the absolutely rabid fan demand for anything to do with Bloodborne, because today the two companies announced The Duskbloods, a new Switch 2 exclusive by the Elden Ring and Dark Souls maker. What was shown looks intriguing and compelling, but we have to admit that our enthusiasm is tempered slightly by the revelation that this is an 8-player PvPvE multiplayer survival game rather than a traditional single-player RPG. Still, it looks awesome.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to the Switch 2 as well, and surprisingly, it's doing so in its "Intergrade" form. Intergrade was the cross-gen update that brought FF7 Remake to the PS5 and PC; it will be interesting to see whether the Switch 2 version is more comparable to the PS4 or to the PS5, visually. This is the first game in the remake trilogy, and Rebirth is already out; while Square-Enix didn't mention Rebirth by name, it did say to stay tuned for further updates, so we think Rebirth and possibly even the third game will hit the Switch 2.


Electronic Arts and 2K Games announced that they're bringing some of their biggest franchises back to a Nintendo platform for the first time in a good while. EA is bringing along EA Sports FC and Madden NFL, both of which are still strong sellers. For its part, 2K Games is bringing both NBA 2K and WWE 2K to the Switch 2, another pair of popular game series. This is clear evidence that Nintendo has made strides to court third-party developers, not just in Japan but world-wide.




Today's Switch 2 announcements were much stronger than anyone expected. A new exclusive FromSoftware game, the amazing GameChat and GameShare features, a brand-new full-effort Donkey Kong 3D platformer, and a sequel to Kirby Air Ride with series creator Masahiro Sakurai back at the helm are all incredible, but when you pile on 120 Hz, HDR, and 4K support for some games, as well as revitalized third-party publisher support, the Switch 2 is looking mighty tantalizing.


There is one wrinkle in the sheets, though, and it's the revelation that Switch 2 games are probably going to be pretty pricey, and this might have broader implications for the industry at large, too. Several sources confirmed just after the show that some games—likely Nintendo's first party "AAA" titles—are going to run $80 for a digital copy, and $90 (or possibly more) for a physical copy.

This pricing is a tough pill to swallow for gamers who are already struggling under the weight of a recession, but it might be the result of Japan's own economy being in the toilet for many years now. What do you think, gamers? Are you still interested in the Switch 2 if games are going to be $80 a pop? How do you feel about the fact that the Switch 2 upgrades for backward-compatible Switch 1 games aren't free? Let us know in the comments!