Nintendo Switch 2 live updates — announcement expected tomorrow

What we think is coming

News
By
last updated
Nintendo Switch crosscut with Mario peeking around a curtain
(Image: © Shutterstock / Nintendo)

After a seemingly never-ending train of rumors, Nintendo is finally expected to reveal a successor console to the Switch on January 16.

As of this writing, Nintendo has only officially confirmed that a console is coming. President Shuntaro Furukawa has said that "an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch" will be made "within this fiscal year." That window extends through March 2025.

When it comes to consoles, Nintendo has tended to release new machines with that build on previous generations but bring something totally new to the eco system. It's handheld devices have tended to be more iterative. With the Switch acting as a hybrid handheld-TV console it'll be interesting if Nintendo stays iterative or revamps the idea of consoles again.

So far, all of the rumors point to a machine that is slightly bigger than the Switch with a bit more power and a couple of new buttons.

Nintendo may not actually announce anything on the 16th. When the original Switch was announced, the gaming giant released a teaser trailer but didn't actually launch the console until a few months later.

Refresh

Nintendo seems to tease fans

We know Nintendo is aware of the leaks and the expectations for when they'll announce anything about the Switch 2.

Today, the company's X account seemingly teased fans with a simple "Drink the Milk, spilling the tea" post accompanied by a GIF from Super Mario Party Jamboree.

To say that the comments responding to the tweet lost their minds is a bit of an understandment. People immediately began clamoring for news on the Switch 2 and elbowing the Nintendo account "seeing what you did there" with the spilling the tea reference.

Add it to the pile of troll jobs the company has done on fans between the announcement of the Alarmo clock and the recent reveal of a Lego Nintendo set. They seem to know their teasing fans, especially the terminally online ones.

More power, more memory

Nintendo Switch 2 Motherboard leak

(Image credit: MHN1994 (Reddit))

A pair of leaks from the last couple of weeks may give us an idea of how much more powerful the Switch 2 will be compared to its predecessor.

At the start of the month, an image of the alleged motherboard for the Switch 2 was put up on Reddit.

That image revealed an Nvidia chip, which we think is built on Nvidia Ampere and Samsung's 8nm mode. It seemingly confirmed that the Switch 2 might sport something like the Nvidia Tegra T239 chip, making it about as powerful as a PS4 or Ps4 Pro. Additionally, the motherboard appears to offer more RAM Slots, at least up to 12GB, tripling the current 4GB in the OG Switch. We do think all of this will allow for the Switch to offer a Nintendo version of DLSS upscaling.

Another leak from this week claimed that the Switch 2's GPU will hit clock speeds of 560MHz when in portable mode suggesting a device that is more powerful than the Steam Deck and just slightly less than the PS4. That leaked also claimed double that performance when in docked mode.

As with most Nintendo products, the Switch 2 won't break down the doors when it comes to power compared to many PCs or the PS5 and Xbox, but it sounds like Nintendo is making a pretty powerful little device that it will optimize to the nth degree.

When will the console actually arrive?

A rumored Nintendo Switch 2 mockup

(Image credit: SwitchUp)

While we're expecting to Nintendo to tease or unveil the Switch 2, it doesn't answer when the console will actually hit store shelves and our hands.

The rumors have been varied on this. The soonest we might expect to see is in March with one Italian website claiming it will arrive on March 28.

On older rumor from a fairly reliable leaker reported that we wouldn't see the console until April or May.

For the most part, some time in March seems to be the most likely launch month.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said that the company wants to beat scalpers by producing enough systems to meet demand.

“As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year,” said Furukawa.

Nintendo reportedly irate about the Switch 2 leaks

a screenshot from Super Mario 3D World Bowser's Fury

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Our sister site, GamesRadar, reported that Nintendo is struggling with all of the Switch 2 leaks.

A pair of former PR managers, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, said on a podcast that Nintendo is "really mad — to the most severe level."

Allegedly, as a company, Nintendo places a lot of import on surprise and maintaining surprise describing it as "so valuable and so important."

Surprisingly, despite the claimed anger Nintendo has seemingly done little about the leaks. After the accessory maker Genki was found showing off a dummy model of the Switch 2 during CES 2025, the company reportedly sent lawyers after the accessory maker.

Beyond that, it's not clear that Nintendo has pursued legal action against any other leakers. A curious move for a company that is widely known to be quite litigious in the gaming community.

What are we expecting to see?

Nintendo Switch 2 render designs

(Image credit: Deck Wizard on X)

A variety of dummy models claiming to be the Switch 2 have leaked over the past couple of months.

Based on those images and models, Nintendo appears to be making iterative changes to the Switch.

The Switch 2 appears to be larger, potentially with an OLED display, and new Joy-Con controllers that attach magnetically instead of on a rail like on the current Switch.

New Joy-Cons

An image shared of the purported Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers

(Image credit: Baidu Tieba via Reddit)

Perhaps the biggest change that we've seen rumored is how the Joy-Con controllers connect to the body of the Switch 2.

Instead of the current rail system, instead the new controllers would slot into the console and hold with electromagnetic connectors.

Videos of the dummy models have shown what appears to be a locking mechanism that ensures you can't just knock the controller off the console.

Additionally, with the increase in size of the console, it appears the Joy-Cons will also increase in size. A nice upgrade for those with larger hands, though even smaller hands could get cramped when holding a single Joy-Con.