Nintendo officially announces Switch 2

After weeks of leaks and wild speculation, Nintendo finally announced the Switch 2the long-awaited successor to its popular portable hybrid console. The gamemaker today released a two-minute teaser with a first look at the console, a handheld that looks very similar to the original Switch but bigger.

Nintendo also announced on Thursday that it will hold a live presentation to provide more details about the Switch on April 2. In the video announcement, Nintendo debuted a larger screen with a pair of black and pink and black Joy-Cons and blue The video also seems to tease a new one Mario Kart game with footage shown for a few seconds.

The handheld will play both Switch 2 and Switch games, Nintendo said in a press release, but added that “some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.”

U Original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, at a time when Nintendo was still recovering poor sales of his previous console, the Wii U. Where the Wii U failed to find an audience, however, the Switch thrived. In 2023, it became third best-seller console of all time behind Nintendo’s DS and PlayStation 2, a position it still maintains.

In 2024, however, it seemed that the console had gone up. Sales were falling downand already rumors are spreading of a next generation entry. Almost a year ago, when Nintendo announced Pokemon Legends: GO It will come to their “systems” in 2025, fans speculated that a new console was on the horizon. (Never mind that the plural “systems” here could just be referring to the Lite and OLED models of the Switch.)

In May of last year, the company promised that it will reveal a new console in April 2025. Last month, details and alleged photos of the device filtered by producersand then on the platforms like Reddit and X.

Nintendo diehards, at least, had fun with the leaks, be that as it may using Tarot card readings to become the date of the announcement, or make spoofs of features such as “imported Italian air“o vines. “It’s 10 grooves. So reveal on January 10th,” one Reddit user joked. Another one built a “summoning circle” full of old games and Mario and Luigi figurines.

The next-gen Switch will be released in a very different console ecosystem from its predecessor. In 2022, Steam released its portable Steam Deckallowing players to take more PC games on the go. During this year’s CES, the vice president of the “next generation” of Microsoft, Jason Ronald, suggested The Virgin that there will be updates this year to the Windows gaming experience. The head of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer also alluded to the possibility of a a portable Xbox device.