Where are all the first-party Switch 2 launch games?

During an hourlong presentation on Wednesday, Nintendo bombarded prospective Switch 2 buyers with information about the new console and its games, including a torrent of ports from third-party publishers. But, once the dust had settled, it was easy to succumb to a creeping anxiety. Where were all the first-party launch titles from Nintendo itself? Mario Kart World looks great, but is it $79.99 great?

Yes and no. Depending on how you define a launch game — and how you define a Switch 2 game — the Switch 2 will launch with anywhere between one and nine Nintendo games. You don’t have to expand these definitions to the absolute limit to realize that the Switch 2 is launching with relatively strong first-party support compared to Nintendo’s past systems. But it is true that Nintendo is approaching this launch a little differently.

First, a little historical perspective: In the last 20 years or so, new Nintendo consoles have launched with only two or three first-party games. For example, the Switch had The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2-Switch, and Snipperclips, a small eShop game. Further back, the Wii had the admittedly killer Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports double-header; the DS the more dubious pairing of Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt.

In terms of Nintendo-made exclusive games, the Switch 2 has two titles on day one: Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. But the latter is a download-only virtual guide to the hardware that most people wouldn’t consider a full launch title. So yes, compared to previous systems, it looks a little light.

But consider Donkey Kong Bananza, which is set for release on July 17 — just six weeks after the launch of the console. This is clearly a major new Nintendo platformer, and given what we know about Nintendo’s conservative approach to finishing games and setting launch dates, it seems likely the game would be ready to hit the June 5 launch day if Nintendo wanted it to. (It could well be finished already.)

It’s probable that Nintendo shifted Bananza’s launch date back as a deliberate marketing strategy, perhaps to extend the hype window beyond launch, perhaps to cover a second wave of stock. Or perhaps out of concern that Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza might cannibalize each other if launched together, because they’re both major titles. This is a key point. If we consider Bananza a launch title, and I think it’s only right to, then the Switch 2 is launching with two brand-new, exclusive Nintendo games of the highest order — which is arguably a first.

First-party support for Switch 2 goes even further when you consider Switch 2 Editions of existing Switch games. The system launches with enhanced versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, followed quickly in July by Super Mario Party Jamboree, which has received a pretty extensive update tailored to the console’s GameChat features and camera. In August, Nintendo will release an expanded version of Kirby and the Forgotten Land with a whole new storyline. Some of these upgrades, especially the Mario Party and Kirby releases, seem substantial enough to be compared to the Deluxe Switch versions of Wii U games like Mario Kart 8 and New Super Mario Bros. U.

(You can only get to nine first-party launch games by including the three GameCube reissues, exclusive to Switch 2, on Nintendo Switch Online: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soulcalibur 2, and F-Zero GX. This is pushing it, I admit, although I would bet these will be some of my most-played games in my first weeks with the new console.)

Through the rest of 2025, we’ll get Drag x Drive, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Kirby Air Riders, and Switch 2 Editions of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A. All in all, across Switch 2 exclusives and Switch 2 Editions, Nintendo announced 12 titles coming in 2025 during Wednesday’s Direct.

That’s a lot of games by any measure. (Certainly compared to the first-party support given to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 in their first nine months on the market.) It just looks different, partly because Nintendo is choosing to spread out its release dates, and partly because Switch 2 Editions are a more diffuse concept than the ports and remasters that have been Nintendo’s stock-in-trade on previous consoles. Nintendo is certainly hedging its bets a little with two of its biggest 2025 games, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, also coming to the Switch. But however you cut it, Switch 2 first-party support is a lot stronger than it might have seemed at first.