When I wrote about Nintendo 2024, I waxed lyrical about how many great Switch games there were, but the hybrid handheld console was certainly showing its age.
The Nintendo Switch 2 finally launched in 2025, but it did so in June, which means it’s actually a strangely paced year for the company that has done a great job in recent years offering compelling exclusives.
As a result, I’ll split this year into Nintendo before the Switch 2 and after the console arrived, but it’s worth emphasizing that it’s been a pretty good year, and hardware sales look promising for the latest system as well.
Before change 2
While Nintendo started the year with a brief teaser for the Switch 2 on January 16, we didn’t get any additional information on specs until a full hands-on presentation on April 2, ahead of the console’s June 5 launch.
That meant that the heavy lifting during the company’s first six months of the year had to do with software, and admittedly, the hits continued to appear in first-party and third-party titles. Donkey Kong Country returns HD, Civilization 7, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionand more helped the Switch gallop off into the sunset with plenty of positivity.
And yet, it would be fair to say that we were all waiting for the June release. we were getting Cyberpunk 2077 on a Nintendo system, Hitman on the go and heavy hitters like Mario Kart World. And while the price and prevalence of ‘game access cards’ remains a contentious topic in the community, neither has stopped the Switch 2 and its software from selling big.
the great arrival
The Switch 2, in some ways, arguably had one of the best launch lineups of all time. That’s partly because we have a new Mario Kart title in World (more on that shortly), but also to the fact that third parties flocked to the system in the same way they did a few months into the original Switch’s lifecycle.
While last time we saw a “wait and see” approach, we revealed and released a huge number of games within the console’s first six months. Sure, some of them were older games repackaged for the Switch 2, but getting games like Cyberpunk 2077: Definitive Edition Taking it on the go, with mouse controls, still feels novel months later.
Then there is Nintendo’s own production. Mario Kart World Arguably it was not as easy as its predecessor, mario kart 8 deluxe, He was, but he sure looks like a systems salesman from here. And, when that began to fade, Pokémon Legends: ZA was included in packs to replace it, offering the best way to play the ultimate creature-catching adventure.
Perhaps best of all is how welcoming the Switch 2 is if you didn’t play the original console. Not played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild either Tears of the Kingdom? They’re here, running better than ever on the next-gen console thanks to some fantastic Switch 2 Edition updates.
There are still some considerable caveats. On the one hand, backwards compatibility is great, but Nintendo’s paid updates have been inconsistent. Super Mario Party Jamboree‘s The Switch 2 bonus content is hardly worth the price of admission, but you can then play a whole new range of remixed levels in Kirby and the forgotten land. Some of the free updates are great too, like Super Mario Odyssey and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet running much better.
This brings us nicely to what Nintendo hasn’t shown us yet. While Donkey Kong Bananza It’s a great platform adventure, we have yet to get a new 3D Mario title, while the Metroid fanbase seems somewhat divided over Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. we are getting Fire Emblem: The Weave of Fortune next year, which is exciting, but Nintendo’s huge variety of IP is currently not taken into account.
On the one hand, this is very exciting, especially with things like Super Smash Bros. either animal crossing It’s yet to come, but on the other hand, it makes you wonder where the next big systems vendor will come from. If you don’t mind Mario Kart either PokémonThere isn’t really an on-ramp for you at this time.
Fortunately, third parties are working to take over that role. I prefer to play NFL Crazy and EA Sports FC on my PS5, but the fact that both are already here, and not just watered down ports, is an example of how the Switch 2 is getting support that its predecessor simply didn’t have.
Is there a storm coming?
One of the main criticisms of the original Switch was its lack of graphical power compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at the time. While this was certainly negated by the fact that you can take it anywhere, the Switch 2 arrives as portable PCs packing a lot more power are released seemingly every month.
Nintendo’s claim that the Switch 2 would support 4K visuals (in docked mode) and up to 120fps in both docked and handheld was a surprise at the time, but we may already be seeing some hardware limitations. Borderlands 4 and Elden Ring: Tarnished EditionThe Switch 2 ports of games you can already play elsewhere have been delayed until 2026, which certainly raises concerns about their quality.
Will we wonder if the Switch version of a game will work well enough again? The more I think about ARK: Survival Evolved In the 2017 system, I more hope that we can avoid that kind of disaster again, especially since one of the biggest console releases in January is the 2020 one. Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Still, 2026 looks promising – we’ll have a full preview in the coming days, but between third-party games like Resident Evil: Requiem, Pragmata, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflectionand even 007: First lightIt’s clear that the developers are ready to stand up for themselves and be counted on Switch 2. We just hope that Switch 2 can stand up for them too.
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