Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Switch 2 will release later this year

Nintendo has officially announced the successor to Nintendo Switch will release later this year, and has given video game fans a first official look at the upcoming hardware.

The Nintendo Switch 2 announcement was made on the official Nintendo website, as well as Nintendo’s various social media and YouTube channels, at 1PM on Thursday, January 16, 2025.

While little has been said about the actual technical specifications of the machine, a brief snippet of what is apparently an as of yet unreleased Mario Kart title shows that the system will both have increased graphical fidelity, and will be able to be played both in portable and ‘docked and connected to an external display’ modes just like the original Nintendo Switch.

The new console is also significantly bigger than its handheld hybrid predecessors, and features both a new Joy-Con connectivity system and an improved kick stand that seems to provide a greater amount of versatility when it comes to display angles.

Nintendo has also said that the Nintendo Switch 2 console will be backwards compatible with existing Nintendo Switch software, although it has also already clarified that some games may not be supported, or be fully compatible with the new device, and that “details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.”

More information will be revealed about the next-generation Nintendo console in a Nintendo Direct presentation that will go live on Nintendo streaming platforms on April 2, 2025.