In a move that can only be described as anticlimactic, Nintendo finally confirmed on Tuesday what had been the subject of rumors for years: the Nintendo Switch 2 console is indeed in the works.
“We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year,” stated Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, on X.
However, this wasn’t the grand unveiling of the console itself. Furukawa clarified that users shouldn’t expect the actual announcement during next month’s Nintendo Direct livestream.
“We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation,” the post reads.
Nintendo’s fiscal year concludes in March, suggesting that we might have to wait until Spring 2025 to uncover what lies ahead for the Switch, a console that debuted nine years ago.
This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
Launched in 2015, the Nintendo Switch proved to be a monumental success for the Japanese gaming giant. With over 141 million units sold to date, the Switch ranks as the third-best-selling console of all time, trailing only behind the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2.
The Switch’s popularity soared due to its unique ability to function both as a handheld device and as a desktop console when connected to an external display. The fortuitous release of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” at the outset of global coronavirus lockdowns further fueled Nintendo’s success. Between March and November 2020 alone, Nintendo sold a staggering 12 million Switch consoles, marking a 73% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Such rapid growth prompted the company to revise its financial forecast for the year, anticipating a 50% higher revenue than initially projected.