After playing it coy for several months, Nintendo has finally outed the
promised "successor" to its immensely popular Switch handheld game console. In a "first-look trailer," Nintendo showcases several design changes and officially reveals what the next-gen handheld will be called. Are you sitting down? The upcoming console is called Nintendo Switch 2!
Okay, maybe you didn't need to be sitting for that part. Nevertheless, there was some minor intrigue on what it would be called, with
Switch 2 and Switch Pro being the popular candidates. There was also the chance that Nintendo would have gone in a completely different direction, as this is anticipated to be a proper next-gen launch and not just a minor refresh, of which there have already been several—Switch Lite and in particular the Switch OLED being the main ones.
Here's a look...
Overall, the Switch 2 looks similar to the Switch, with it retaining the detachable Joy-Con design. However, we can glean some key differences. For one, it appears Nintendo was able to reduce the size of the bezels on the large display. It also looks like the rumors of a
magnetic attachment system for the Joy-Cons were true, which will be a welcome change. The Joy-Con controllers are physically bigger, too. This also suggests that the display will be larger.
It's a sleeker system as a whole, complete with a USB-C port, 3.5mm audio jack, and a redesigned kickstand. Nothing appears to be drastically different, at least externally, and that's probably a smart move on Nintendo's part. The Switch ranks as Nintendo's second-best selling console of all time with over 146 million units sold, trailing only the Nintendo DS at 154.02 million units.
Internally, we'll have to wait and see. Nintendo promised to reveal more details during its "Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 - 4.2.2025" event that will air on Wednesday, April 2. In the meantime, it
reiterated backwards compatibility with Switch 1 games, with a caveat.
"Nintendo Switch 2 plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date," Nintendo stated in a
press release.
Presumably, the upcoming Nintendo Direct event will also reveal details about pricing and retail availability. Stay tuned.