When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be released?

Rumours are flying around as to when the Switch 2 will be released after Nintendo finally officially revealed the console on Thursday (January 16).

A video showed off a number of key details, including what might have been a look at a brand new Mario Kart game, which all went down incredibly well with fans.

A Nintendo Direct event has been confirmed for April 2 where the company said a closer look at the console and more details about it will be shared, and a release window of 2025 has been given.

With such a vague release window, speculation is swirling as to when exactly it will release this year, but IGN says Nintendo may have actually already given a bit of a hint about that.

There are a number of Switch 2 hands-on events taking place around the world starting in April through to the start of June with a couple of places still to have their dates confirmed.

It seems highly unlikely Nintendo would host these events before releasing the console so it seems the release date for it will be from June onwards.

None of this has been confirmed by Nintendo and as always with leaks, rumours and speculation, take it with a pinch of salt until anything official has been announced.

Nintendo officially revealed the Switch 2 on January 16 / Image from Nintendo

The reveal video shows the current Switch console morph into the Switch 2 and it confirms features that were previously leaked.

Two USB-C ports are shown on the top and bottom of the console, along with a kickstand that runs the full length of it.

Bigger Joy-Cons are shown in black with colour detailing on the rail and behind the sticks; it seems the shoulder buttons on these are bigger too and there is indeed an optical sensor with the controllers shown being used in the way a computer mouse would later in the video.

It appears they will connect magnetically and there is a connector with pins in the middle of the Joy-Con rails.

The screen of the Switch 2 is much bigger than its predecessor and it goes much further towards the edges.

The logo is the same as the previous Switch one but with a number two added next to the Joy-Cons.

The dock is shown too and is similar to the current one but with more rounded edges and more of the top of the screen is visible when the console is docked.

Details of the console's backwards compatibility were confirmed too - Switch games will be playable on the console, including physical cartridges.

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