The Nintendo Switch 2 seems likely to release this year, but when? And for how much? These are some of the questions on the minds of Nintendo fans as 2024 gets underway. If industry analysts are to be believed, the Switch successor should be out later this year, with a price point of less than $400.
Offering his predictions to GamesIndustry.biz for 2024, Dr. Serkan Toto — a Kantan Games analyst noted for being a Nintendo expert — said he belives that the Switch 2 will be out in 2024. He also affirmed the persistent but unconfirmed rumors that a Switch Pro was indeed in development at one point.
"The time is finally here for a Switch successor, even though I can say a 'Pro' model actually did exist and certain developers were already working with the dev kit," Toto wrote. "I believe the next hardware will drop next year for $400. There is a high chance that games will cost more, too: $70. The next system is also likely to be an iteration rather than a revolution. Nintendo might add some bells and whistles to the device, but it will be similar to the current Switch. And because there is Pokémon, and Pokémon is associated with handheld gaming, there is no way on earth Nintendo will drop the portability feature for their next big thing."
Ampere Analysis analyst Piers Harding-Rolls also weighed in his own predictions, saying that he expects the console market to be up "marginally," aided by "the launch of a next-gen Nintendo console, more than likely a Switch 2, towards the end of the year."
Toto and Harding-Rolls' predictions lend further weight to the persistent belief that the follow-up to the seven-year-old Nintendo Switch is near. The Switch 2 has been heavily rumored since 2023, when a demo meant to reflect the platform's expected hardware capabilities was reportedly shown to developers at Gamescom. Little is known about the device, and Nintendo has persistently denied rumors of its existence, but there's been consistent chatter about its DLSS capabilities and more.
If the Switch 2 is indeed "iteration rather than a revolution," it will seemingly be closer to the Nintendo 3DS, which built on the success of the DS with improved hardware, a 3D screen, and similar hardware capabilities. The main question is whether or not will be backward compatible, which is one of the major requests from Nintendo fans.
We don't know when Nintendo will show off its new console, but we may get some hints in the company's customary February Direct, which is typically used to set the table for the new year. In the meantime, the Switch continues to chug along, with a Paper Mario Thousand-Year Door HD remaster and a new Princess Peach game among the releases on the docket.
For more, check out everything we know so far about the Switch 2.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
