What is the Nintendo Switch 2 release date?
- January 9, 2025
- 0
A render of the alleged Nintendo Switch 2 Genki Everyone seems to be talking about the Switch 2 except for Nintendo. Whether it’s the tech gurus at Digital
A render of the alleged Nintendo Switch 2 Genki Everyone seems to be talking about the Switch 2 except for Nintendo. Whether it’s the tech gurus at Digital
Everyone seems to be talking about the Switch 2 except for Nintendo. Whether it’s the tech gurus at Digital Foundry weighing in on the leaked Switch 2 motherboard photos, rampant speculation about the upcoming console’s performance, or, you know, licensed accessory makers showing the entire world what the Switch 2 looks like and when it will be released.
That’s what happened this week at CES, where accessory manufacturer Genki is showing off its upcoming Switch 2 accessories — and an alleged mockup of the Switch 2 itself. French outlet Numerama posted a video of their tour through the booth on X (formerly Twitter):
According to Numerama, the Genki representative revealed a bunch of critical information about the Switch 2, including a release date: April 2025. Nintendo promised to discuss its next-gen console before the end of March, so this tracks. It’s worth mentioning the original Switch had a two-month gap between its full reveal and eventual release in 2017.
The report also alleges that Genki confirmed the existence of an optical sensor, and that fans the flames of existing speculation that the Joy-Con may double as a mouse, sort of how the Legion Go 2 TrueStrike controller does.
Perhaps most incredibly, the French gaming outlet claims to have spoken to numerous accessory makers all claiming the real, final Switch 2 is available on the black market “as long as you put in the money.”
Genki claims all of its cases, grips, and other Switch 2 accessories were produced from molds of the real console, not CAD designs.
Genki is doing more than leaking release dates, however. It produced a detailed animation showing what the Switch 2 looks like, and how its accessories will interact with it. Here it is live on its website, and a standalone video below:
Genki clearly has some Switch accessories ready to roll out, which adds some legitimacy to this. As we can see in the video above, the new Joy-Cons are magnetically attached and feature a release button near the triggers. (The alleged kickstand also looks much more durable than the current one).
The rumor of magnetically attached Joy-Cons dates back to September 2024 when CAD renders and photos of the Switch 2 and its controllers were posted on Reddit. This particular leak mentioned a “magnetic slide rail” and exact dimensions for the device.
On a slightly related note, this analysis from Digital Foundry is worth watching (it’s time stamped to to take you directly to the segment.) The team smartly debunks any speculation that the Switch 2 will match PS4 Pro performance, discusses why the processor might be manufactured using a Samsung 8nm process and what the implications would be, and even some educated guesses about battery capacity.
Of course, the only things Nintendo has officially confirmed is that the Switch 2 will thankfully be backwards-compatible with its predecessor, and that it plans to produce enough units this time around to deter scalpers.
An earlier version of this article stated May 2025 as the alleged Switch 2 release date. It has since been corrected to accurately reflect the original French report.