Nintendo Switch 2 Rumored to Skip Early 2025 Release

It seems the new system won't release in March like the current Switch did.

By Marc Deschamps

It's widely assumed that the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be released sometime in the first half of 2025. While Nintendo has said very little about the tentatively titled "Switch 2," many had assumed that the new system would be released around the same time as the current console, which launched in March 2017. However, it seems that might not be the case. In a new episode of the GamesIndustry.biz podcast, Chris Dring claims that developers have been told not to expect the system's arrival within Nintendo's current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2025. 

"No developer I've spoken to expects it to be launching this financial year. In fact, they've been told not to expect it in the [current] financial year. A bunch of people I spoke to hope it's out in April or May time, still early next year, not late," said Dring. "I don't think any of us wants a late launch for Switch 2 because we all want a new Nintendo console, everyone gets very excited for it, and we don't want that crunch of Grand Theft Auto 6 and Switch and all that kind of stuff on top of each other."

While Dring is a very reliable source, readers are always encouraged to take this sort of thing with a grain of salt pending an official announcement. That said, this is not the first time that we've heard speculation that the new console won't be released in this fiscal year. During an investor call in May, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company had not forecasted sales for the new console as part of the current fiscal year, which seemed to suggest an April release at the earliest.

Nintendo has been very secretive about the new console, offering very little in the way of concrete details; we don't even know what the system's name is yet! We know for a fact that Nintendo plans to reveal the new system sometime before the end of the current fiscal year, but that could mean any point between now and the end of March. The company has also been saying that there will be a shorter wait between the system's announcement and release than we saw with the current Switch. That's basically guaranteed at this point, given how little we actually know.  

At this time, Nintendo has very few games announced for 2025. We know that Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is coming in January, while Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A both have an ambiguous 2025 window. If Nintendo isn't releasing Switch 2 until at least April, we should probably expect a few announcements to fill out the months leading up to launch. Luckily, we can probably expect a Nintendo Direct in September, if not earlier! 

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When do you think the Switch 2 is coming out? Are you still enjoying the current system? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]

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