Nintendo Switch 2 Announcement Imminent: Thursday, January 16th?

A reliable leaker claims the Nintendo Switch 2 will be officially unveiled on Thursday, January 16th, 2025. This early 2025 reveal strongly suggests a first-half 2025 release.

The Switch 2's existence has been an open secret for some time. Reports indicate mass production began in late September or early October 2024, corroborated by numerous hardware leaks. Nintendo itself committed to an announcement before March 31st, 2025.

NateTheHate, a well-known leaker, broke the January 16th news on his podcast, citing unnamed sources. This aligns with Nintendo's history of using Thursdays for major announcements – the original Switch was teased on a Thursday in 2016. Tom Warren of The Verge independently corroborated the date.

Extensive Leaks Precede Official Reveal

Whether Nintendo will follow the 2017 Switch pattern of a pre-announcement teaser remains to be seen. Regardless, the extensive leaks over the past months mean few surprises are expected. The sheer volume of leaked information even prompted a rare official Nintendo comment on a Switch 2 replica.

To recap the leaks, the Switch 2 is rumored to be slightly larger than the Switch OLED (270 x 116 x 14mm), featuring an 8-inch LCD screen. Magnetically attached Joy-Cons are anticipated, with the right Joy-Con potentially including a new "C" button below the home button – its function remains unclear, but may relate to a rumored mouse-like pointer mode.

Launch Lineup Remains Enigmatic

The Switch 2's launch game lineup is far less certain than the console itself. While My Time at Evershine and Bestiario are confirmed, neither is expected to be a day-one title if the console launches in the first half of 2025. Nintendo will likely include at least one or two major first-party titles to drive initial sales.

Source: Nintendo of America