Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 April 2, 2025: Information and Reactions

EDIT: April 4, 7:12 PM Eastern: After a couple days, I wanted to make some edits.

EDIT 2:44 PM EST: added that Rocky Wrench is in Mario Kart.

It’s finally here. After years of rumors and leaks, we finally have a clear idea about Nintendo Switch 2. Earlier today, Nintendo released an hour-long presentation on the device, the successor to the unstoppable Nintendo Switch. Of course, we here at Source Gaming have the skinny on everything from the show. We’ve organized it for maximum clarity. Of course, it was still a ridiculously packed direct, so do be warned.

Launch date: June 5, 2025. A bundle with Mario Kart World will be released alongside it. Preorders begin on April 9.

EDIT: However, the day after the show, Nintendo delayed pre-orders in order to “assess the potential impact of tariffs” announced by the Trump Administration hours after the Direct, tariffs that may cause the system’s price to rise significantly. No new date has been given, though the launch date has stayed the same.

Price: $449.99, announced in a separate press release.

Nintendo Switch 2 specs:

Switch 2 is larger at 7.9 inches (versus 6.2), but with the same thickness (13.9mm).
With double the pixels compared to the Switch, the portable screen has 1080p support.
Screen supports up to 120 fps for supported titles
The LCD screen supports HDR.
The built-in speakers have been improved for this iteration.
To accommodate GameChat, the Switch 2 has a microphone with noise canceling technology.
Features a greater support for more immersive “3D sound” when using headphones.
The Switch 2 features a larger, more powerful, and stabler stand
There’s another USB plug on top for ease of use.
256GB of internal storage, with faster reading and writing of data.
Switch 2 will only work with MicroSD Express Cards, not the MicroSD cards that could be used in Switch 1. Allegedly, they’ll improve the speed of data transfers.
In docked mode, Switch 2 offers 4K support. The dock also has an internal fan to cool the console and keep performance stable.
Naturally, Nintendo Switch Online will be retained.
Disappointingly, there’s a notable addition to the world of Switch 2 cartridges. Alongside the normal ones that have some or all of your data, there are also going to be Switch 2 Game Key-Cards. These have faster data reading, but they also won’t contain a game’s data and are essentially keys for downloading a game from the internet. The box you get it in will tell you if it’s one of these items and how much free space it’ll require. It’s unclear how much product space Key-Cards will take compared to the regular physical releases, though I’d certainly recommend staying away from those if you can.
- I should note that this isn’t universal. Cyberpunk has the whole game on the cartridge unless you want to download additional languages (and any theoretical Switch patches)
- EDIT: Looking at press information, it seems to be almost entirely for third parties. It also has one potential benefit, in that because it’s still a physical cartridge, it can still be sold on the secondhand market.
The rather neat GameShare allows Nintendo Switch owners to share a game with other players for multiplayer sessions, i.e. players who don’t own it can play it through a friend’s Switch. This is coming to both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 and supports both local and online play. However, it will only be available for select titles, including Switch 1 games that will receive updates at some point in the future.
- The current list of announced games: Clubhouse Games (the first one to get support), Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Super Mario Odyssey, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain.
Pricing seems to be somewhat confusing and inconsistent. Physical copies appear to cost noticeably more than digital ones (EDIT: and the current $70 dollar standard), something that could be seen as either a response to the higher price of cartridge and CD costs, a general attempt to reduce physical media, or the repeatedly threatened tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, which affects physical goods more than digital ones.
- The third theory becomes starker if you notice that the Switch 2 is notably cheaper in Japan, which might be why the console has a very specific, Japan-only version of region locking.
- Notable here is Mario Kart World, whose physical release costs $80USD and is quite a bit higher than its digital one. This is somewhat in line with a years-long change in perspective that has caused the games industry to treat physical copies as luxury items, but it’s disappointing from one of the few companies that had been eschewing it.
This was also not mentioned in the Direct, but the Switch 2 will also feature standard accessibility features, notably font size adjustment, screen reader, and text-to-speech within GameChat.

Image: Nintendo. Featuring: DK’s new overalls!

Joy-Con 2

Attach magnetically, with a button to release it. This should hopefully stop situations like, say, the writer of this article accidentally sticking the wrist strap in the wrong way and having to finagle it out with a fork.
Alongside the larger size of the Joy-Cons in general, the SL and SR buttons are over twice as big. The control sticks are also larger, if not nearly that dramatic a shift.
The left and right Joy-Cons can each be used as a mouse. This can allow a game to incorporate more fine-tuned aiming, gameplay that would otherwise be restricted to playing on PC, and even a game where you use both mice at once. One of Nintendo’s games, which is covered below, is doing just that.
Switch 2 will feature a new Pro Controller, alongside bonus GL and GR triggers meant to allow more controller remapping, a C Button, and an audio jack.

GameChat: (EDIT: fixed information about the microphone and also just tightened up this section)

The Joy-Con 2 controller features a C Button, a voice chat button that includes an option for the screen sharing feature GameChat. This will be expanded to at least some Switch 1 games, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Pikmin 4, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
A camera peripheral sold separately lets you stick your face onto the screen, with a lot of YouTuber energy. Called Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, it will be sold on launch day.
While GameChat normally requires an NSO membership to use, there will be a launch period that eschews this from launch to March 31, 2026 in order to sell both.
GameChat will also have parental controls, unsurprisingly.
It should be noted that the quality as depicted in the Direct is… suboptimal.

Nintendo has described Nintendo Switch 2 as having “three types of game” that act as pillars for the console. These include Switch 2 games, Switch 1 games that are backwards compatible, and “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” games. The games in the first category include Mario Kart World:

First shown at the Switch reveal and releasing as a Switch 2 launch title, Mario Kart World is the next mainline Mario Kart entry. Featuring familiar vehicle customization and items, its main features are massive courses and a supersized racing list that doubles the race roster from twelve to twenty-four racers.
While there are individual courses, including classic ones, they’re all very large and part of a large and contiguous open world akin to Forza and Burnout Paradise, encouraging drivers to go off the course. Some of these are more disconnected, such as a giant stone road that reaches high into the sky, but most are on the ground. They’re also affected by the time of day and weather conditions. Several courses have specific features; one seems to allow you to drive into and temporarily control a truck.
This means that this iteration of Grand Prix sends you through four courses that are near each other, forcing you to physically drive from one to the next as part of the competition. There are only seven of these.
Free Roam lets you drive anywhere to explore new routes, take photos, or simply casually enjoy the scenery.
A new feature is Knockout Tour, a “nonstop race” that, like a battle royale, slowly picks players off based on their performance. There seem to be eight cups for this one.
Courses: a new Mario Bros. Circuit, Crown City, Whistlestop Summit, DK Spaceport, Desert Hills, Shy Guy Bazaar, Wario Stadium, Airship Fortress, DK Pass, Starview Peak, Sky-High Sundae, Wario Shipyard, Koopa Troopa Beach, Faraway Oasis, Crown City, Peach Stadium.
New racers include… Cow? And a Cataquak? And a Fish Bone? And a Goomba and Pokey?
- All confirmed characters, at least those I could make out from footage, screenshots, and the game’s cover art. Bolded for new ones: Mario, Bowser Jr., Baby Peach, Baby Luigi, Pauline, Luigi, Birdo, (Red) Shy Guy, Baby Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Baby Mario, (Green, Pink, Red, Light Blue), Yoshi, Toad, Wario, Rosalina, Baby Daisy, Waluigi, Lakitu, King Boo, Bowser, Toadette, Peach, Koopa Troopa, Moo Moo (EDIT: added their formal name), Hammer Bro, Chargin’ Chuck, Cataquack, Fish Bone, Pokey, Stingby (EDIT: not merely “Bee”), Pianta, Peepa, Nabbit, Para-Biddybud (EDIT: disgracefully referred to previously as merely “Biddybud”), Goomba, Penguin, Spike, Dolphin, Rocky Wrench.
- EDIT: Other enemies spotted in footage and the Nintendo Treehouse Live shows in the days after the Direct include Coin Coffer, Swoop, Cheep Cheep, Sidestepper, Monty Mole, Snowman, and Conkdor. Other than Monty Mole, all are newcomers to Mario Kart‘s series roster.
There are several new items. One super-sizes you, one summons a Coin Block, and another lets you throw Super Mario Bros.-style hammers. Strangest is a triple-decker cheeseburger that changes the driver into an astral blob before giving them a costume, which presumably is a way to reimagine the gacha costumes of Mario Kart Tour.
A dedicated World Direct is planned for April 17.

Image: Nintendo. It’s kinda like Katamari from a distance.

Other Switch 2 games:

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is the newest tech demo by Nintendo’s in-house master of strange, gimmicky hardware experiments, EPD4. This game, which is not a tie in but sold separately, is a (by the loosest definition of the genre) adventure game that takes you through the inner workings of a Joy-Con. You get explanations of how the machine works, and several mini-games are used to explain and play with the new mouse controls. Releases at launch.
Drag x Drive, a new Nintendo IP and sports game (“summer 2025”) that uses dual mouse controls. You physically move a wheelchair vehicle by independently moving the Joy-Cons to race after balls and knock them into a goal.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, a personal favorite with a pitch perfect name for a “complete edition,” announced for the first time. It includes the humongous Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and a few new kinds of weapons and armor. Releases in “2025.”
Hades 2, after having a year in early access, is coming to Switch 2 in its presumably final form “later this year.”
Street Fighter 6: Fighters Edition will come in two versions: a standard release and a Years 1-2 Fighters Edition with the various DLC characters who’ve been added since the game’s 2023 release. It’ll feature new modes exclusive to this version, such as amiibo figures and… cards?! Like, the amiibo cards? Releases at launch.
Announced in 2023, Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion is coming to Switch 2.
One of 2025’s first GOTY nominees, Split Fiction, with all the great-looking gameplay and awful-sounding dialogue, releases at launch.
The EA Sports brand announced that EA Sports FC and Madden will be on the platform at some point.
Hogwarts Legacy is here, too. I guess it’s worth mentioning since the game’s (extremely successful) Switch port was barely functional, but I’ll give this all the respect a Harry Potter thing demands. Let’s move on.
Announced at the beginning of March, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4, releases “this summer.” Given that the game already has a July 11 release date, I’m assuming it’ll come out around this time.
After Hitman 3’s disappointing Cloud release on Switch 1, I’m happy to report that the critically acclaimed Hitman: World of Assassination: Signature Edition trilogy will be on the console in full. You all better buy this, because it’s excellent. Releases at launch.
- What’s more exciting than that? There’s some light Switch-exclusive content in the form of Mario and Luigi-themed suits and a, uh, Luigi-themed version of the exploding rubber ducky.
- IO Interactive has also confirmed that their in the works James Bond game will release on Switch, though Project 007 still has no real game footage or release date.
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, a remaster of the first Bravely Default game, announced. Releases at launch.
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut announced, featuring new cutscenes. Releases at launch.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, a follow-up to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and the Warriors franchise’s latest Nintendo crossover, announced. It’s a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom that depicts Zelda’s battle in the ancient Imprisoning War. Time will tell if it’s an actual prequel, given Age of Calamity’s own plot points, but it features the ancient champions like Zelda, Rauru, and Mineru. Notably, it appears to be the first Zelda game (or one of the few) to not feature Link.
Deltarune Chapters 3 + 4 formally shown off after years in development. While it features a ton of new mechanics and features, details on the wacky misadventures of Kris and co. are still vague. Releases at launch, like as a big deal “right out the gate” game, something that would’ve been unfathomable from 2015 when Undertale first came out.
- Incidentally, Deltarune creator Toby Fox has announced the final price of the game (as Chapter 1 and 2 were released as free): $25. This price will stay fixed, meaning the planned final three chapters will effectively also be free.
Professional dirtbag Randy Pitchford was on hand to reveal that Borderlands 4 is coming to Switch.
WWE2K (EDIT: no, not a WNBA game, Wolfman, that you don’t care about wrestling does not excuse you) and NBA2K are coming to Switch 2.
Survival Kids, a game that is… EDIT: ~~probably not a sequel to~~ a shocking reboot of the very obscure Konami Game Boy game of the same game, announced. Features four-player survival co-op. Releases at launch.
Enter the Gungeon 2 ~~got its first look~~ EDIT: announced a decade after the release of the first game, albeit at a point when the stream’s audio and screen collapsed in different ways. It abandons the 2D look of its roguelike predecessor (and its sequel Exit the Gungeon) for full 3D graphics.
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions, a spinoff of 2019’s Astroneer, announced. It features cooperative exploration on an alien world. Releases “soon.”
Cyberpunk is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 as Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, with the Phantom Liberty expansion in tow. Releases at launch.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to Switch, with an at least a vague implication that its 2024 sequel Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming in the future. No release date shown.
Sizzle reel: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (launch day), Hollow Knight: Silksong (“2025,” with what I think might be new footage?), Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (August 27), Goodnight Universe (“2025”), Two Point Museum (“2025”), Wild Hearts S (July 25), Witchbrook (“holiday 2025”), Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S (launch day), Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (launch day), Marvel Cosmic Invasion (“holiday 2025”), Star Wars Outlaws (“2025”), Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition (launch day), Fast Fusion (launch day), Shadow Labyrinth: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (July 18), Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army (June 19), No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files (July 25), Reanimal (“2025”), Fortnite (launch day), Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer (launch day), Professor Layton and the New World of Steam (“2025”), Tamagotchi Plaza: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (June 27), Human Fall Flat 2.
- EDIT: I should have pointed out earlier that many of these games will come to Switch 1; several were announced at last week’s Nintendo Direct. The ones released under the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition banner will presumably have sold upgrade packs (see below) for the Switch 1 versions.
In a shocking reveal, The Duskbloods, an all new game from FromSoftware, was announced as a Switch 2 exclusive. It features faster movement that typical Soulslike games and Bloodborne-y aesthetics, with a decaying setting that evokes England. There are also jetpacks and evil moons and dinosaurs. In a Creator’s Voice article on Nintendo’s website planned for publication on the 4th, FromSoft President Hidetaka Miyazaki will be going into further detail on the game (EDIT: here it is), and I’m excited to learn more about this. Releases in 2026.
- EDIT: After the fact and from the interview, we’ve subsequently learned the game has a greater focus on multiplayer and lands in the somewhat ungainly “PvPvE” genre. Players fight each other and enemies using blood-derived superpowers; instead of making a character from scratch, they pick from “over a dozen” characters who can be altered afterwards. Its exclusivity stems from Nintendo collaborating on publishing duties in at least some territories, which is apparently the reason why the main character’s sidekick or helper has changed from a maiden into a slightly cartoony winged rat.
Masahiro Sakurai’s latest game since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was announced: Kirby’s Air Riders, a sequel to his twenty-two-year-old cult classic racer. Releases in 2025, with no actual in-game footage shown.
Donkey Kong Bananza, the first 3D D.K. game since Donkey Kong 64, announced. It’s far more aggressive than Donkey Kong Country and the 3D Super Mario entries, relying on the ape’s physicality to climb walls and demolish seemingly any part of a “massive underground world.” Also features 2D segments. Releases July 17.
- At an event held after the show, some journalists mentioned seeing Yoshiaki Koizumi, producer of the 3D Super Mario games (and director of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat). Nintendo has declined to share who is devleoping Bananza, as they have with almost all of their games, but this suggests that it’s likely Nintendo EPD8—making this the next follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey.

Image: Nintendo. Forget that you can play as cow, actually. Look at the bottom. You can play as dolphin.

Game Type Two: Nintendo Switch 1 games you can play on Nintendo Switch 2

The process demands you go into your Nintendo Account and use the System Transfer. It supports save data and both digital and physical games.
Games shown off: Super Mario Party Jamboree, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Maker 2, Pikmin 4, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Fire Emblem Engage, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Nintendo Switch Sports, Luigi’s Mansion 3, ARMS.
…Is what I wrote before Nintendo published several lists online clarifying the limits of the console’s backwards compatibility. Here’s one for overall compatibility, revealing that yes, the vast majority of Switch 1 games should be entirely playable. Almost everything Nintendo’s published works, and while there’s still testing being done on third party games (and backwards compatibility issues aren’t an uncommon issue), the prognosis looks good. The only game that is fully inaccessible—EDIT: at least, discounting the possibility that Nintendo and the third party partner can’t address the problem—is Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit.
Some games require a Switch 1 Joy-Con to be connected to the system and won’t work with the Switch 2 version’s. These are: Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2-Switch, Everybody 1-2-Switch!, Game Builder Garage, Nintendo Switch Sports, WarioWare: Move It!, and the three other Nintendo Labo Toy-Con kits.
- There’s also a list of games that have start-up issues and ones that have compatibility issues, with Nintendo investigating the issues behind these. I imagine some are higher priority than others. I certainly hope that Alien: Isolation is one of those. I’ve barely played my Switch copy!
- EDIT: Compounding the issue is that, by Nintendo’s own admission, there are over 15,000 games on Switch 1. The first page I linked to notes that while the list they had was updated on April 1st, they intend to share updates over time. The next public one is expected to be released “later in April.”
Also, while several games will be getting paid upgrades (see below), a few will just get fairly standard QoL improvements. These include ARMS, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Game Builder Garage, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Violet, and Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain.

Image: Nintendo. Almost cruelly Bloodborne-y.

Game Type Three: “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” Games:

Select games from Nintendo Switch will receive optional paid enhanced editions. These will add the standard quality of life upgrades like better resolution and frame rate, but they’ll also feature various additional modes, control options, or other forms of new content that, for the most part, uses the Switch 2 hardware or technical gimmickry. The emphasis on a material expansion of content is a recurring feature, and my working theory is that this is Nintendo both wanting to monetize upgrading and trying to find more meaningful ways to justify and incentivize such a process.
EDIT: These games will be sold separately as Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, and consumers who own a physical or digital version can purchase the upgrade separately.
- In addition, at least two upgrade packs—for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom—will be free to NSO subscribers.
Nintendo’s example was Super Mario Party Jamboree. Its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Super Mario Party Jamboree: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, adds mouse controls, audio recognition, more expressive rumble, and new mini-games that use the camera accessory (one also features the Wonder Flower from Super Mario Bros. Wonder, one of the few Mario characters to not be in the new Mario Kart). Releases on July 24th, along with an “upgrade pack” that players with the Switch 1 version of Jamboree can purchase.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition have better frame rates and are compatible with HDR. They also feature “Zelda Notes,” a Switch 2-exclusive feature on the Nintendo Switch App that features voice guidance for content, and the upgraded version of Tears will allow you to share Ultrahand devices.
- Incidentally, the new app seems to have a feature to make it a bit easier for screenshot-obsessed folks like me.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World features an additional story, alongside improved graphics and frame rate.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will feature both a Switch 1 and a Nintendo Switch 2 edition. The latter has mouse controls and better resolution: 4K at 60fps or 1080p at 120fps.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A will also have a Nintendo Switch 2 edition. It will have “enhanced resolution and frame rates,” but little else is known about it.
Civilization VII will get an updated release on Switch 2 at launch, featuring mouse functionality.

As an exclusive bonus for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, we’ll finally be getting GameCube games!

The starting roster: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soulcalibur 2 (!!!), F-Zero GX.
Planned titles for the future: Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Super Mario Strikers, Chibi-Robo!, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokémon Colosseum.
Games feature the standard NSO benefits, such as online play, save states, controller remapping, and higher resolutions. EDIT: In addition, it will allow players to add a CRT filter to give the games a more authentic look for their original releases. This feature will be expanded to Nintendo 64 games—at least, on Switch 2.
Releases at launch alongside a GameCube controller with access to a C button.

Wolfman’s Soapbox: First off, seventeen launch games. Eighteen if you count GameCube NSO, which is big enough that it deserves it. And for the most part, they’re big deals, including at least one major release that only just came out and a few fully new announcements. That is wild, and it’s a far cry from the Switch’s fairly paltry starting lineup. Then again, there isn’t a game here that feels nearly as revolutionary as Zelda.

Overall, I feel satisfied. When I watched it, obsessively taking notes, it felt like I was jumping from feeling confident to unsure to antsy. The relative lack of big new Nintendo games is surprising, and it makes me wonder if they’ve either got a quiet first year or simply wanted to focus on games coming out within the first few months. We got five: a fun looking Donkey Kong game, a Kirby Air Ride sequel that I’m sure will be fun but has no gameplay to show, the delightfully weird tech demo controller museum thing, a sports title with an interesting use of the mouse feature, and Mario Kart, which seems genuinely interesting and strange enough for me to feel excited for it. Five is not a bad amount, but it seems small, especially after a very quiet 2024. The holiday is a complete blank. My assumption is that this presentation would give us more of a real trajectory for the company, something that would help us understand the form they would take for years. That was not what we got. What we got was, well, a Nintendo Direct. There was more technical discussion and some obfuscation about the pricing, but this had a ton of games in it and I think put more of its focus on them. The sizzle reel was gigantic, and the Triple-A games just kept coming.

What didn’t we see, besides the roadmap? A more clear take on the company’s incoherent approach to pricing. A number of third party publishers who I expected to be here, namely Microsoft (and Ubisoft beyond one game). And yeah, a few more Nintendo titles. But then again, we’re talking about a show that had a really fun-looking DK entry, a Switch-exclusive (at least, for now) Soulslike made by FromSoftware planned for release only a year after Elden Ring: Nightreign, and Sakurai’s next project. There was a ton of stuff, and I’m certain I’ll use the hardware to catch up on games I’ve missed for the past few years. I think it’s a show that will probably be received better in the future than it might be right now.