We no longer have to speculate: the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement is coming by April 2025. Nintendo confirmed as much a few days ago during its earnings call. I speculated at the time that an announcement might drop this fall and that the Nintendo Switch successor might hit stores by next March. This would all align with Nintendo’s playbook for the first-gen model.
Since then, there’s been plenty of chatter online, and various Nintendo Switch 2 details might have leaked. Some of the console’s main specs, its release date window, info about the controllers, backward compatibility support, and even a mockup have all turned up in the past few days.
We’re still looking at rumors, but some of them come from sources that have been accurate in the past.
Per Android Authority, one source of new Nintendo Switch 2 specs details is a forum for Nintendo games and consoles called Famiboards. A user says they tracked shipment listings between Nintendo, Nvidia, and other companies. They came up with the following Nintendo Switch 2 specs:
- 12GB of RAM: 2x 6GB LPDDR5X modules that support 7,500MB/s speeds
- 256GB Of UFS 3.1 storage
Separately, an X account with a significant following that focuses on Pokemon leaks compiled additional data about the Nintendo Switch 2. According to Centro Lekas, the new Switch will have an 8-inch LCD display. That likely means we can expect a mid-cycle OLED upgrade, just like the one we saw with the first Switch console.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 will also seemingly use Nvidia’s Tegra T239, and deliver 4K support while docked.
Furthermore, the Nintendo Switch 2 should feature DLSS support to improve performance and add ray tracing. The leaker says DLSS should help boost the Switch’s image quality, even though the handheld won’t match the PS5 and Xbox hardware.
The Switch 2 might use magnets to attach the new Joy-Con controllers. The console could also feature built-in microphones, and the controllers might also have their own microphones.
The Switch 2 will reportedly use new microSD Express cards for expandable storage, so current microSD cards might not work. The new cards will be capped at 256GB initially, according to rumors.
The leaker also says the Nintendo Switch 2 will be “completely backward compatible with original Switch games, both physical releases and digital ones.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 design has not leaked, but Centro Lekas posted the following mockup. The new console should be slightly larger than the first-gen model but smaller than the Steam Deck.
Finally, the same X account pointed to Brazillian YouTuber tvPH, which recently leaked the console’s internal delay to early next year. According to a new clip from tvPH, the Nintendo Switch 2 release date is March 2025. More information should come out this fall.
You can watch the full clip below:
