Nintendo Switch 2 may be launching later than everyone expected
Nintendo fans expected to hear news about the Switch 2 soon, but those hopes have been dashed by a recent report from VGC.
The Switch 2 is now expected to be delayed until early 2025, as reported today by VGC news editor Andy Robinson. What started as industry chatter and speculation grew into more substantial news, with Robinson later confirming VGC had heard from “multiple sources” on the delay, and that the new Nintendo console is now planning on a release in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.
Highlighted by Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo found plenty of success with its first-party releases in 2023. Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Metroid Prime Remastered, Mario RPG, and Pikmin 4 stood out as a few of the several other games that received positive reviews and showcased that the six-year-old hardware still had enough firepower to produce gems. However, other big games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were dogged by performance issues which seemed partially due to the old tech. Looking forward to what Nintendo had up its sleeve in 2024, rumors suggested the new console would finally be unveiled.
The Nintendo Switch sold around 2.74 million units over the course of its first month in March 2017, making it the fastest-selling home console in Nintendo’s history, according to data provided by Statista. In his series of posts on the Switch 2, Robinson claimed a 2025 release date would “make sense” if Nintendo wanted to try and release a console around the same time of the year. Q1 refers to the first three months of the year: January, February, and March.
Historically, Nintendo has always hosted a Direct in February, going over upcoming games for the first half of that calendar year. VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb claimed the showcase may have been pushed back one week because of the Xbox business update that happened yesterday.
But if this news turns out to be true, Nintendo fans shouldn’t expect to hear about a new console during the upcoming Direct.