According to the latest reports, it appears that the next Nintendo console, tentatively called the Nintendo Switch 2, will not be released until next fiscal year.
This comes from Chris Dring, head of GamesIndustry.bizIn the website’s latest Microcast episode, Dring discussed the expected launch window for the Nintendo Switch 2 and how it is unlikely to release during the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2025.
As noted by VGCDring said: “No developer I’ve spoken to expects it to launch this fiscal year. In fact, they’ve been told not to expect it in the (current) fiscal year. A lot of people I’ve spoken to are hoping it’s out in April or May, early next year, not too late.
“I don’t think any of us want a late launch of the Switch 2 because we all want a new Nintendo console, everyone is really excited about it and we don’t want that squabbling of Grand Theft Auto 6 and Switch and all that stuff on top of each other.”
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa previously confirmed via X/Twitter that the company’s next console will be officially announced before the end of this fiscal year. He went on to state that “Switch next model” is an appropriate way to refer to the upcoming console, strongly suggesting that unlike the Wii and Wii U, Nintendo doesn’t plan on significantly shaking up its design philosophy here.
A spring 2025 launch for the Nintendo Switch 2 wouldn’t be too far-fetched, either. The original Switch model launched in early March 2017, just before the end of that fiscal year, which could have been a way to boost that year’s revenue after the Wii U’s disappointing sales performance.
With the Switch family of devices now approaching 150 million units sold, the company is in a much stronger position to launch a console at the start of a new fiscal year. You’d think a souped-up Switch would be a much easier sell than something as unconventional as the Wii U.