Nintendo Direct confirmed for this week — but don’t expect to see Switch 2

The next Nintendo Direct live showcase has been confirmed, and already my social media feeds are full of fervent speculation that this could be the place where we finally see the much-rumored Nintendo Switch 2 — but don’t get your hopes up. 

As announced earlier today, the next Nintendo Direct will be held tomorrow (Thursday, September 14) at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. BST. The live-streamed event will be “roughly 40 minutes” in length and is practically guaranteed to give us a fresh look at Nintendo’s upcoming slate of games including Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the Super Mario RPG remake. 

Nintendo has confirmed the Direct will be “mostly focused on Nintendo Switch games releasing this winter”, so expect it to cover mostly previously announced software. But there could be a couple of surprises and some third-party announcements to fill out the runtime. 

An unexpected “one last thing” style reveal isn’t out of the question, but I really don’t expect Nintendo to showcase any new hardware at this particular digital event. There will be a day when the Nintendo Switch 2 is revealed, but it (probably) won't be tomorrow. 

Why the Switch 2 won’t be at this Nintendo Direct 

When Nintendo decides to give us our first look at its next-gen hardware — which is not confirmed to be called Switch 2 — it’ll likely come in a presentation dedicated solely to the company's next flagship gaming device. 

When the Switch 2 is introduced to the world, Nintendo will surely want all the attention on the console, and won’t want the hardware to be sharing the spotlight with games set to release on the current Nintendo Switch family of consoles. 

This logic goes the other way as well. Switch 2 news would overshadow anything else that Nintendo could present at this Direct — apart from maybe the resurfacing of Metroid Prime 4 — and that’s unlikely to be a desired outcome either. 

I expect Nintendo will want upcoming games like Super Mario RPG remake to dominate the online discussion following the Direct, and that won’t happen if there’s even a sneak peek at the Switch 2. 

It should also be noted that the Switch 2 has been pretty much universally tipped to launch in 2024, but some leakers have suggested it won’t hit store shelves until the second half of next year. Assuming this is true, an imminent announcement would be a little too early. And even if the console is scheduled for early 2024, I don’t predict we’ll get any official word until closer to the holiday season either. 

There’s still plenty of reason to be excited about the next Nintendo Direct. I’m definitely keen to see what tracks make it into the final course pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. However, I’ll be keeping my expectations firmly in check, and won't be anticipating the reveal of the Switch 2 at this Direct for the reasons stated above. 

In the meantime, if you want to sort through the many rumors surrounding Nintendo’s follow-up to the wildly successful Switch, be sure to check out our dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 hub, which includes everything from its rumored new camera features to a suggestion that it will actually be called the Nintendo Focus. Although, I'm not so convinced by that last leak.  

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