Nintendo has seemingly confirmed the release window of the Switch 2.
Yesterday (February 27) Nintendo and Game Freak announced Pokémon Legends Z-A as part of the celebrations for the annual Pokémon day.
The game is set for release at some point in 2025. Instead of the usual message of “coming to Nintendo Switch” though, the announcement confirmed that Pokémon Legends Z-A “will launch on Nintendo Switch systems in 2025!”
#PokemonLegendsZA, an ambitious new entry to the Pokémon video game series, will launch on Nintendo Switch systems in 2025! pic.twitter.com/r2Rutaxg8V
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) February 27, 2024
That’s systems, plural. Since fans picked up on that though, the description in the official trailer has been edited to remove any mention of multiple systems, though the title still reads: “Pokémon Legends: Z-A releases simultaneously worldwide in 2025!”
Some tentative fans have pointed out that Nintendo has both the Switch and the Switch Pro currently on the market, but it tends to refer to those as one system in announcements.
It comes after multiple reports stated that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be delayed from a late 2024 release window to sometime in 2025.
The delays were apparently due to Nintendo wanting to build up stock to avoid shortages, and needing time to develop a catalogue of games for launch. As it stands, Nintendo is set to release remakes of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in the coming months, with Princess Peach Showtime coming next month. Beyond that though, Nintendo’s first party release schedule is wide open.
Nintendo has sold close to 140million Switch consoles since it was first released in 2017.
Last year, reports alleged that the Switch 2 was shown off with games like The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild at Gamescom 2023 and displayed “visuals comparable to Sony‘s and Microsoft’s current-gen consoles”.
The same year, there were rumours that the development kits for the company’s next console had been sent to “key partner studios” in order to be ready for a launch in the second half of 2024.
In other news, the composer of the iconic Mario theme tune has revealed that Paul McCartney once brought him backstage to sing it for him.