The Nintendo Switch 2 will release on June 5, 2025! It will retail for $449 in the United States. I’ll highlight hardware first, then games. And yes, Nintendo did show Hollow Knight: Silksong for literally three seconds, and it was listed as “2025.”
I wrote this live during the Nintendo Direct (which you can watch here), and I made updates after it ended with additional information and images. Here’s all the biggest moments from today’s Nintendo Direct!
Hardware Announcements for Nintendo Switch 2
Switch 2 GameChat
Nintendo Switch 2 will feature GameChat where people can have built-in audio or even video calls while playing games together! The right-held Joy-Con has a little new “C” button that turns a built-in mic on-and-off and also opens up a chat. You’ll also have the option to view other people’s game screens, which does look a little sickening tbh.
This will be such a fun way to play with other people. This will become a feature that requires paid subscription to Nintendo Switch Online in the future, but it’ll be “Open Access” until May 2026 so that way everyone can use GameChat in the mean time.
Switch 2 GameShare
Nintendo Switch 2 will feature “GameShare” within GameChat which seems to be a feature inspired by the old Nintendo DS Download Play. If one person owns a game, they can temporarily share it and play cooperatively with other Switches in the area. TBD if it’s going to be something available online.
Switch 2 Hardware Specs
- The Nintendo Switch 2 will have 4K when docked, and a 1080 HDR at handheld.
- You can use the Switch 2 Joy-Con as a mouse for games by turning it ion its side. Not sure why people really want to do that but that’s cool.
- There will be 360 sounds when wearing headphones! You can hear ocean waves or Epona’s hooves bounding away from you.
- Switch 2 will come with a built-in stand and a charging port at the top.
- For some reason, Nintendo is also launching a little camera that looks like the old Xbox Kinect. Someone will be happy about this. Not me. But that’s cool lol.
- Nintendo Switch 2 will come with 3x more storage than the original! Nintendo Switch had 32 GB of memory built-in, and the Switch 2 will have 256 GB built-in.
- The new Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller looks good and will have an audio jack. We liked this.
- There will be also be a GameCube-styled Controller for the Switch 2, also available launch day.
Nintendo Switch 2 Cost and How To Buy
The Nintendo Switch 2 will retail in the United States for $449, and with the Mario Kart World bundle, at $500. This is significantly more expensive than in Japan (where it is the equivalent of $360) due to new international tariffs imposed today by the Trump administration. Games are being listed to retail individually starting at $70 or more.
The ordering site for Nintendo Switch 2 is live. However, it is prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025.
Shout-out to fellow writer Gary Wilson for perusing press releases for both of the above bits of information!
Games Releasing for Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World
The direct opened with an exciting trailer for Mario Kart World, a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s been over a decade since Mario Kart 8 released in 2014 (can you believe it?), so this is going to be great. This was the longest game feature by far!
There’s tons of exciting new routes with what looks like zones around the world that players will select, giving that feeling of truly being on a road-trip quest around the world. Other highlights include that 1) you can be a cow, 2) there’s like five different versions of Peach including an unnecessarily hot Daisy Dukes-inspired one, and 3) you can take “scenic drives” with friends.
There will be a bundle version where you can get Mario Kart World with the new console.
Select GameCube Titles on Nintendo Switch Online
The Nintendo Switch 2 will have big updates to the Nintendo Switch Online library with games from GameCube. The games will have higher resolution and support multiplayer. When Nintendo showcased The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Sam wrote in our chat, “SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP.”
At launch, there will be several games from the GameCube library on Nintendo Switch Launch 2, in alphabetical order:
- Chibi-Robo (which we featured on our list of Video Game Remakes We’d Most Like To See)
- F-Zero GX
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- Luigi’s Mansion
- Mario Smash Football
- Soul Caliber II
- Super Mario: Sunshine
- Pokémon Colosseum
- Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Notably, no Super Smash Bros. Melee; however, Nintendo promised “more games would be added in the future.”
New Game Announcements from Nintendo Switch 2 Direct
In order of announcement and linked to individual trailers:
- Drag x Drive is a game that will make good use of the Switch 2 Joy-Cons’ mouse feature and players will be like mechanized basketballs.
- Daemon Machina: Titanic Scion is a wild, dramatic-looking mech game.
- We got a closer look at Hades II from Supergiant, implying that this will be on Switch 2! They said “we’ll share more later this year.”
- The Hitman studio, IOI, is making a new Bond game called Project 007! It was announced a while ago but it’s been real quiet since then. Nice to see it.
- Tony Hawk 3+4 will launch on Switch 2!
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will be “coming this winter.” It’s being developed externally with support from Nintendo. Plot is time-traveling with a prelude to Tears of the Kingdom and you’ll be playing Zelda for a bit! A time-traveling game where it looks like you’ll be playing as Zelda but in a story leading up to Tears Of the Kingdom.
- Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 also got a spotlight! It’s real and looking good! Expected in June 2025.
- Pokémon Legends Z-A “which is scheduled to launch later this year” is will come out on both Switch and Switch 2, but on the latter, it will have enhanced frame-rates.
- Borderlands 4 will launch on Switch 2 in September 2025.
- For literally three seconds, they showed Hollow Knight: Silksong and said “2025!” More on that later.
- There was a very long trailer for a new creepy looking game from FromSoft called The Duskbloods which gave big Bloodborne and Elden Ring energy. It will come out in 2026 and exclusively on the Switch 2.
- We got a teaser for Kirby AirRiders! Kirby rode a star guider through a lush garden with some other Kirby friends. It’s been 20 years since the GameCube title, so that’s exciting.
- We got a good long look at a new DK game! Donkey Kong: Bananza will be a 3D action platformer and will come out July 17, 2025. He’s wearing overalls and mining a lot. He’s got a purple rock that’s his special friend. Kong is making a lot of expressions and Hulking out. Looks fun, and it made our resident DK super-fan Sam Martinelli very emotional.
Notably, there was no new Mario platformer or new Super Smash Bros. game announced. But there’s a lot of other cool looking things!
Game Ports and Updates on Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Games
These games are specific titles that will receive paid updates on the Switch 2 with better graphics and framerates. These will be available both physically and digitally. If you already own the Nintendo Switch version, you can purchase an upgrade pack on the Switch 2.
- There will be a Super Mario Party Jamboree update that includes some very “Wii-inspired” (as said by fellow editor Sam Martinelli) antics.
- Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will receive big HDR updates. They look nice. They’ll also be paired with a “Zelda Notes” app that you can use to create basically a Hyrule GPS for yourself, take notes on quests, and send QR codes of your creations to other players. It’s a specific service just for this game.
- Kirby and The Forgotten Land will get a new quest.
- Metroid 4 Prime Beyond will get some additional visuals and mouse control with the Switch 2 Joy-Cons.
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII will also have a paid Switch 2 update.
Ports and Game Remasters on Switch 2
- If you had it on your bingo card, you called it—looks like Elden Ring will be on Switch 2.
- Split Fiction
- Bravely Default II
- Yakuza 0 – Director’s Cut
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Hitman
- WWE 2k
- NBA 2K
- Enter the Gungeon 2
- Cyperpunk 2077
- Final Fintasy VII Remake
More Games Coming to the Switch 2
Late in the direct, starting at 1:17:58, Nintendo highlighted super quick previews from partner studios. It was truly a roller coaster of games being shown for just a few seconds, like Fortnite, Star Wars: Outlaws, and yes, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Game Compatibility Between Switch 1 and Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is confirmed to be backwards compatible with the majority of Nintendo Switch games, both physical and digital. However, not all titles will be supported and some already have some problems.
Bluesky user and famous internet gamer Wario64 has reported two lists of Nintendo Switch 2 compatibility issues. The first list is “Switch games that start up on Nintendo Switch 2, but include some in-game compatibility issues” and includes titles like Alan Wake Remastered, Mega Man: Legacy Collection, and Overcooked! All You Can Eat, and a second list of games that have trouble event starting up including Botany Manor, NBA 2K25, and Rocket League®.
Again, shout-out to Gary Wilson for digging here.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct Itself
The stream was hosted by three lovely presenters—Kouichi Kawamoto, Producer of Switch 2; Takuhiro Dohta, Director of Switch 2; and Tetsuya Sasaki, Hardware Design Lead for Switch 2—who did a great job hosting! However, the stream itself was plagued with technical struggles. Audio was de-sychronized. At one point the video stream froze but the audio kept going forward, and then somehow, the video restarted but went backwards? The UK stream did better but still, a lot of video content was lost for a bit.
Lastly, one of my favorite moments was when the presenting developers invited viewers to go “inside the Switch 2” that at first looked like a brand new Mii Plaza (I NEED IT!) but then it was actually just a very odd tech demo. It prompted our Discord chat to yell, “What are magnets?” Apparently you can also buy this game/activity, called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, on launch day.
Nintendo has also shared a follow-up a four-part Ask the Developer series with three leads on the Nintendo Switch 2 project who also hosted today’s Direct. You can read them here:
- Part 1: Introductions and new gameplay experiences
- Part 2: Redesigning everything from scratch
- Part 3: Inherently added value
- Part 4: A new standard
Leave a Comment!
Any favorite moments from the Switch 2 Direct or did I miss something? I typed as fast as I could while also screaming with my friends. Let us know in the comments!
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, punch bad guys, make friends, and have a good cry. She started writing for the site in 2020, and became an editor in 2022. She enjoys writing about mystery games, indies, and strong femme protagonists. Her work has also been published in Unwinnable Monthly (click here to read her cover feature on Nancy Drew games), Salt Hill Journal, Poets.org, Litro Magazine, Public Books, and more. She was the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University's Culinarian Magazine, and served for two years as the Managing Editor of Aster(ix) Literary Journal. She recently graduated with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her writing, art, graphic design, and marketing work can be viewed at www.amandatien.com. She does not post a lot on social, but you can find her on X and on Instagram.
