Nintendo Switch 2 won’t launch until March 2025 at the earliest, according to a new report.
Japanese publication Nikkei reported the March 2025 release window with much of the same information leaked so far: that Nintendo’s next console is a Switch successor with similar hybrid functionality but a bigger screen.
The Nikkei report does, however, suggest one of the reasons Nintendo has set a March 2025 release window is to ensure it can manufacture enough launch stock to satisfy demand and, therefore, combat scalpers. When the Switch launched in March 2017 it was almost impossible to get hold of, sparking a vibrant scalping market. It stands to reason Nintendo would want to avoid repeating the situation.
Indeed, Nikkei reports March 2025 is the earliest possible date Nintendo’s next-generation console will launch, suggesting it may not make Nintendo’s next financial year. Given the pressure Nintendo is under to release the successor to the near seven year-old Switch, a post-March 2025 launch would come as a huge surprise.
Earlier this month, Nintendo announced it had sold 13.74 million Switch units in the first nine months of the financial year, a 7.8% decline on the same period a year earlier. But it revised its forecast for the current financial year up, predicting Switch sales of 15.5 million, up from the 15 million previously predicted.
Nintendo said sales of the console “continued to be steady” in its seventh year since launch. The Switch is now up to 139.36 million units sold, lagging behind only the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2 in the best-selling consoles of all-time list. Indeed, the Switch has more annual playing users than ever before, with 122 million recorded during the 2023 calendar year.
“For hardware, by continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try not only to put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person,” Nintendo said. “Another objective is to continually release new offerings so more consumers keep playing Nintendo Switch even longer and we can maximize hardware sales.”
One of the big unanswered questions is whether Nintendo’s next-gen console will be backwards compatible with the Switch. With 122 million Switch players in tow, it seems unlikely Nintendo will leave those accounts behind to start over.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
