The Only Switch 2 Article You Need

Confirmed, rumoured and likely Switch 2 features and games all in one place

Normally, I write only about retro games: anything 20 years or older or the occasional indie that catches my eye but these are not normal times.

The Switch 2 is coming.

While everyone else was tapping away at their keyboards, nattering away on social media and theorising away on Reddit I decided to bide my time, let the dust settle and bring you this: the only article about the Switch 2 you need until April, a compilation of all exclusives, hardware features and third party developers confirmed to be coming to Nintendo’s new machine.

I will also be highlighting a lot of the popular rumours buzzing around regarding the console right now and giving my opinions as to why I do or don’t think something will happen.


HOW MUCH WILL THE SWITCH 2 COST?

I’ll start with a more speculative topic first: the price.

What do we actually know?: Nintendo have stated that the Switch 2 will be priced with ‘affordability in mind.’ Since the mid-2000’s Nintendo consoles have typically commanded a price at least £100/$150 dollars cheaper than the competition.

What do the rumours say?: From what I can gather online there are 2 price points that have come from placeholder listings and unconfirmed leaks so far: $348 (£280) and $400 (£321) however, factors like the console’s increased power and DDR5 RAM have some convinced the console could be priced higher.

What do I think?: The Nintendo Wii was priced at £179.99 at launch while the Xbox 360 was £279.99. The base-model Wii-U was priced at £249.99 and the deluxe at £299 while the PS4 cost £349. The Nintendo Switch was priced at £279.99 at launch while the PS5 retailed at £449.99.

Except for the Wii-U Deluxe Package, every single generation of Nintendo since the Wii has sat at least £100 cheaper than the next best competitor. The original Switch’s hardware has more in common with the Xbox One and the PS4 than it does the current generation, therefore, I think given the boost in power, consumer expectations and Nintendo having an eye for affordability, the Switch 2 will cost between £349-379 and the same in dollars.


HOW POWERFUL WILL THE SWITCH 2 BE?


Given how dated many of the recent Switch games have looked, this will be an important selling point.

What do we actually know?: Images of the Switch 2’s motherboard leaked a short while ago and suggest 12GB of DDR5 RAM (2 6GB chips) and 256GB of storage. The Switch 2 looks to feature a custom Nvidia Ampere chip with DLSS upscaling capability; the Ampere architecture was used in Nvidia’s RTX 30-series graphics cards. This also means the Switch 2 could support ray tracing. The Switch 2’s CPU appears to be a Cortex-A78C which launched in November 2020.

What do the rumours say?: Rumour has it that the Switch 2 may use its DLSS capability to provide 4K support, ray-tracing is unconfirmed but desired, the Switch 2 is expected to be at least as powerful as the PS4 Pro.

What do I think?: The Wii-U and the Nintendo Switch were a sort of half-step forward in terms of technology; roughly as powerful as the Xbox 360 and Xbox One respectively but in some ways better and in many ways worse, this fact combined with the hardware involved and the promise of more power leads me to believe that the Switch 2 will be more powerful than the PS4 Pro but less powerful than the PS5.

In terms of its features and capability? I think the Switch 2 will run at 1080p resolution in handheld mode and up to 1440p natively docked with games supporting a kind of Quality mode where it can be upscaled to 4K + Ray Tracing at a heavy framerate cost. I think at last, 60FPS will become the norm on Switch.


WILL THE SWITCH 2 JOY-CONS HAVE MOUSE CONTROL FUNCTIONALITY?

Probably the most talked about feature at the moment is the idea of using the Joy-Cons/a Joy-Con like a computer mouse.

What do we actually know?: The above image is taken from Nintendo patents and shows the Switch 2 Joy-Con being operated like a mouse, the Nintendo Switch 2 first look showed the Joy-Cons gliding across a flat surface which many interpreted as teasing the feature.

What do the rumours say?: Most people believe that mouse support is coming. Rumours are that games like Civilisation 7 and possibly even Crusader Kings 3 will come to the Switch 2, maybe at launch with this control option now available. Many people expect a potential new 3D Mario title to feature the control option prominently.

What do I think?: I think the evidence is overwhelmingly clear that this will be a Switch 2 feature but besides Civilisation 7 and Metroid Prime 4 I’m not convinced about other games coming with the feature or its potential uses besides the obvious. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mouse feature only works for a single Joy-Con: the one with the new mystery button.


WHAT WILL THE NEW ‘C’ BUTTON DO?


The new button is the biggest mystery of all; we have rumours, we know what it looks like but that’s about it.

What do we actually know?: The Switch 2 has a new button below the Home button on its right Joy-Con. We have seen it marked with a ‘C’ but it has since ben rendered blank too.

What do the rumours say?: Speculation and theories are everywhere. I can’t speak about every single one I’ve seen but some popular ones are that it will open a Community/Social Network component similar to Xbox Live or the long-passed Miiverse. Some theorise that it will be a ‘Chat’ button for messaging friends, others say it could be a push-to-talk button for an in-built microphone in handheld mode, considering its similar shape to the screenshot button others have mentioned it could be used to record in-game video clips; the only real consensus is that we don’t know or that the button is used for some unannounced feature.

What do I think?: My personal theory is that this button could activate the mouse controls, otherwise? I think both the video capture idea and chat function are very plausible. I’m not willing to speculate further as we know so little but I do think we’ll see expanded community features and customisation on the Switch 2 considering it has been one of the most consistently complained about aspects of the original.


WHEN WILL THE SWITCH 2 COME OUT?


Ever since the announcement of the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct in April this has been the big question on everyone’s minds.

What do we actually know?: The Switch 2 will be available at hands-on events until the 1st of June meaning a console launch in April or May almost certainly won’t happen. The last time a console was launched the same month as its first official reveal/marketing push the Sega Saturn fiasco happened.

What do the rumours say?: The wider community seems to be expecting a late June release, some rumours point to August or September. A few have speculated on May but I think it should be clear why that almost certainly won’t happen.

What do I think?: The original Nintendo Switch had its official reveal 5 months before launch in October 2016 but had its March release window announced right away. We know that the Switch 2 reveal was likely done earlier than planned after the massive amount of leaks in late-2024. I think the plan was always to reveal it in April and release later in the year. With all of the above taken into account I think the Switch 2 will launch either in July or September, skipping the exam season for its younger demographic and avoiding both the Summer when people will presumably spend more time outside and the competitor discounts of a Winter release.


OTHER RUMOURED FEATURES:


I don’t have much to say about these but here are some other small rumours I’ve seen pop up, some more plausible than others.

- Phone-style screen flipping/tilting

- Joy-Cons can be attached upside down

- Upgraded, 9-axis gyro motion controls

- Extra fans/Cooling built into the dock

- Compatibility with the previous Pro-Controller

- A Switch 2 Pro-Controller incoming


LAUNCH TITLES AND 3RD PARTY SUPPORT

I’ll dedicate the last section of this post to all the 1st and 3rd party game rumours and planned releases for the Switch 2 launch and the months following.

Metroid Prime 4: Universally agreed to be a cross-generation launch. I hope so, I could also see a sequel to Metroid Dread being announced as Nintendo have been pushing hard on 2D lately.

New Donkey Kong Country: Donkey Kong has recently been redesigned, celebrated at Super Nintendo World with a whole area and new rollercoaster, Mario Kart 8’s final new content involved 2 Donkey Kong characters and Donkey Kong recently featured in The Super Mario Bros. Movie Film, I will be flabbergasted if we don’t see a new game soon, it’s been over a decade now.

Mario Kart 9: I won’t comment on the game’s features but I hope this one is Switch 2 exclusive and not a cross-platform launch. The clips we’ve seen so far were compressed and fell-short of an official, full-fat reveal.

Pokemon Legends Z-A: I think this will be a launch title. Pokemon is the ultimate cash cow and Legends Arceus was arguably the best Pokemon game of the last decade.

New 3D Zelda Game: We are coming up on 2 years removed from Tears of the Kingdom now and people are starting to develop an appetite for the next big Zelda game. I personally feel we will get some kind of tease but not see the game for a year or two yet; I hope it takes a drastic departure from Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild as I’m tired of that formula of Zelda game now (can we get proper dungeons again, please?)

New 3D Mario Game: A matter of when and not if, people seem torn on whether this will be launching with the console or arriving in the Winter, I personally think it will be a launch title; its traditional and I don’t think Metroid Prime 4 will pull in the millions of players that a new Mario could.

Obligatory Star Fox and F-Zero Rumours: It seems like every 3 months a ‘leak’ reveals that a new Star Fox is just around the corner! I don’t see much changing for either franchise.

Civilization 7: Another one I see being a cross-generation title, Firaxis have been very coy on the details which adds to the suspicion. I could see this being there at launch.

Xbox Titles: Phil Spencer has confirmed that more Xbox games are coming to the Switch 2, with the increase in power and storage and Nintendo’s wide catalogue of retro shooters already onboard, I really do think the Master Chief Collection will show up on Switch 2 within 12 months of its launch.

DOOM: The Dark Ages: Rumoured to be in-development for Switch 2 and I’m very inclined to believe it as DOOM (2016) DOOM: Eternal and all previous DOOM games are playable on the Switch already.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Capcom are being very tight-lipped on bringing the game to the Switch 2 but seem interested. I think it will arrive on Switch 2 but not at launch. Since a separate team developed Rise, however, I could see a Switch 2 and PC-exclusive Monster Hunter materialising too given how excellent that game was.


This has been my comprehensive guide to what we know so far about the Switch 2, I hope this was an all-encompassing read and a not too unwelcome diversion from my usual content. Expect another article of this nature in April after the reveal but until then, I hope you were informed and entertained and let’s look forward to the future together.