The Nintendo Switch 2 has been the talk of the town for several weeks now. We saw all sorts of leaks detailing the next-gen handheld’s design, and most offer the same claims. Given everything, I’m confident Nintendo has no big design secrets left to surprise gamers with.
However, the leaks haven’t stopped, with CES 2025 turning out to be a big source of fresh Nintendo Switch 2 leaks. Accessory makers present at the show have brought mockups showing the console that is supposedly based on the actual Switch 2 design (above).
It turns out the accessory vendors made wilder claims about the Nintendo Switch 2 than simply showing mockups and accessories for it. Some of them said the console will get an April release date, which makes some sense. What’s crazier about these accounts is that some of them claim the Switch 2 is available for purchase on the black market, assuming you’ve got money to spend.
That’s all according to the French blog Numerama, which published a hands-on clip showing a Nintendo Switch 2 mockup console from CES.
Genki, the third-party accessory company that introduced Switch 2 accessories at CES, claimed that all its products will be available in stores at the same time as the console “in April.” That’s going to be the release window for the new console, though an actual date is missing.
A few days ago, a different leak said the Switch 2 release date would be March 28th. The date came from an unnamed source familiar with accessory makers for the console. At the time, rumors were swirling online, saying that Nintendo might unveil the Switch 2 in January.
Given the new developments, a March or April release still makes sense for the Switch 2. What we know for certain is that Nintendo plans to announce the console by the end of March. The launch event should be followed by a preorder window ahead of the in-store release.
The same Numerama says that some Switch 2 accessory vendors claim the console is available on the black market. The report notes that Genki and others say their mockups are based on an actual console, not 3D blueprints.
These claims can’t be verified at this time, and accessory makers might always make things up to generate attention and notoriety. However, it wouldn’t be the first time a tech product has made it to the black market before its release date.
We see it happen with Pixel phones all the time. More recently, the M4 MacBook Pro was sold on the black market in Russia several weeks before the official launch. In that case, the units were probably stolen from Apple or its suppliers.
There is a difference, however. If the Switch 2 is selling on the black market, nobody is ready to show it. And the accessory makers have not detailed the software experience, which is a red flag. Well, either that or the units selling on the black market have already been bricked somehow.
CES might be over, but I’m betting the stream of Switch 2 leaks won’t die down anytime soon. If anything, we should see even more rumors until Nintendo decides to finally announce the console.
