Recent reports indicate that the highly anticipated Switch 2, Nintendo's next flagship console, is not expected to launch before April 2025. This news comes as Nintendo continues to support the current Switch model, which is approaching the end of its lifecycle.
"The Summer of Switch 2" Could Happen Next Year
Developers Reportedly Hope for April/May 2025 Switch 2 Launch
Insights from the GamesIndustry.biz podcast, shared by the media company’s head, Chris Dring, suggest that the elusive "Switch 2" is not expected to launch before April 2025. Dring revealed that game developers have been advised not to anticipate the Switch 2’s release within the current financial year, ending March 2025. He stated, "No developer I’ve spoken to expects it to be launching in this financial year. In fact, they’ve been told not to expect it in the financial year. A bunch of people I spoke to hope it’s out in April or May time, still early next year, not late."
Dring also speculated that Nintendo might be aiming to avoid a launch clash with major releases like Rockstar Games' "GTA 6," expected around the Fall of 2025. Adding to these speculations, journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe suggested on the O X do Controle podcast that Nintendo might announce the Switch 2 before the end of August this year, as reported by BGR.
These reports align with Nintendo's plans to announce the Switch 2 before the fiscal year ends on March 31, 2025. However, Nintendo has remained silent on the matter, only confirming that an official announcement regarding the Switch’s successor will be made within the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.
Nintendo Shares and Switch Sales Dip
Despite Decline, Current Model Switch Sales Still Go 'M for M' Year-on-Year
image via Google Finance
Nintendo's shares experienced a 2.3% dip in Tokyo on August 2 following a report of declining revenue from the current Switch console. The company's Q1 FY2025 Financial Results showed a -46.4% decrease in consolidated sales for its dedicated video game platform. Despite this, Nintendo sold 2.1 million units of the Switch during the quarter. For the year ending March 2024, Nintendo sold 15.7 million Switch consoles, surpassing its full-year sales forecast of 13.5 million units.
More indications of where Nintendo currently is at with the Switch
Nintendo reported that the number of annual playing users for the Nintendo Switch family of systems between July 2023 and June 2024 exceeded 128 million, indicating sustained engagement with the current Switch at the end of its lifecycle. This statistic refers to the "number of Nintendo Accounts, out of all Nintendo Accounts registered to a Nintendo Switch system, that used Nintendo Switch software one or more times during the 12-month data aggregation period."
In its latest financial report, Nintendo reiterated its commitment to "maximizing" both hardware and software sales, even as the highly anticipated Switch 2 looms on the horizon. The company forecasted to sell 13.5 million units for FY2025, concluding, "Going forward, we will continue to work to maximize software sales as well as hardware sales in an environment where many people continue to play Nintendo Switch."
