Nintendo Switch 2 Price, Release Date, Specs & Games Updates

The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been revealed, as the successor to the hugely successful handheld and home console hybrid has finally been unveiled. The brief announcement video highlighted the console’s new design, complete with a visual overview of its new Joy-Con controllers and a tease of a major new game release. After watching the announcement trailer, many still have questions regarding the console’s price, release date, specs, games, and controllers — here are all the updates we have so far.

What is the Nintendo Switch 2’s price?

Nintendo has yet to officially reveal the Switch 2’s price, though there has been ample speculation around it launching at $399.99. All of this speculation should be taken with a pinch of salt, though it’s certainly within the ballpark of expectations considering the Switch’s current price point.

Right now, the Switch OLED model retails for $349.99. A price cut would be inevitable following the launch of the Switch 2, meaning that the new console could well retail for $50 more. The original Switch launched at $299.99, but when taking into account inflation, that price point seems highly unlikely.

What is the Switch 2’s release date?

The Nintendo Switch 2’s release date is reported to be in June 2025. This information comes from YouTube podcaster NatetheHate, who previously correctly reported that the console would be revealed on January 16th.

Nate the Hate’s correct report means that his other claims about the Switch 2 now hold a lot of weight. One such claim was that the console would launch in either May or June 2025. Nintendo has announced a tour of hands-on demonstrations for the console, with the current last date of this tour taking place in June. This means that it’s more likely that the console will launch in June rather than May, given that demonstrations are unlikely to continue taking place after the system has already launched.

Nintendo hasn’t confirmed a release date for the console, but right now June 2025 seems the safest bet.

What are the console’s specs?

Nintendo hasn’t released the Switch 2’s official specs, though information has been reported regarding the hardware and its announcement video also gave us a few glimpses at what to expect.

A dataminer posted the console’s reported specs in a famiboards.com thread, which was helpfully broken down by another forum user. The breakdown is below:

Technical specifications

• SoC: Nvidia Tegra 239 GMLX30-R-A1
• CPU: Arm Cortex-A78C
  • 8 cores
  • 1 cluster
  • Cache:
    • L1 cache: 32 KB, or 64 KB (unknown)
    • L2 cache: 256 KB – 512 KB (unknown)
    • L3 cache: None, or 512 KB – 8 MB (unknown)

• GPU: Custom Nvidia Ampere (RTX 30 series)
  • 1 Graphics Processing Cluster (GPC)
  • 12 Streaming Multiprocessors (SM):
    • 1536 CUDA cores (Shader Processors), 128 per SM
    • 48 Texture Mapping Units (TMU), 4 per SM
    • 24 Render Output Units (ROP), 2 per SM
    • 12 Ray Tracing (RT) Cores, 1 per SM
    • 48 Tensor Cores, 4 per SM
  • L2 cache: (unknown, likely 2 MB)
• RAM: 12 GB LPDDR5
  • 64-bit bus
  • 2 channels
  • Handheld:

Performance configurations

• Handheld
  • CPU @ 1100.8 MHz
  • GPU @ 561 MHz
    • 1.721 TFLOP/s peak
    • 13.464 Gpx/s peak filltrate
    • 26.928 Gtex/s peak filltrate
  • RAM @ 2133 MHz
    • 68.256 GB/s peak bandwidth
• Docked:
  • CPU @ 998.4 MHz
  • GPU @ 1007.3 MHz
    • 3.090 TFLOP/s peak
    • 24.175 Gpx/s peak filltrate
    • 48.350 Gtex/s peak filltrate
  • RAM @ 3200 MHz
    • 102.400 GB/s peak bandwidth

What are its launch games?

The Switch 2’s launch games are unknown but a new Mario Kart seems to be highly likely, with a new 3D Mario game potentially being released during the holiday season. A new entry in the series — which many believe will be a brand new Mario Kart 9 rather than an iterative update like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — appeared in the Switch 2’s announcement video.

Additionally, Nate the Hate speculated that a 3D Mario game might be released during the holiday season. If correct, this means that Mario Kart would be the key first-party title for the console at launch, and we should expect more third-party releases when the console releases.

What’s the difference with its new Joy-Con controllers?

The Switch 2 is notably larger than its predecessor, as are its Joy-Con controllers. The announcement video revealed a bunch of details regarding the new Joy-Cons, including a new way of connecting to the console, a different analog stick, and new buttons.

Prior to the console’s announcement, it was heavily reported that the Joy-Cons would connect to the Switch magnetically. It’s still not clear if this is the case, but the first-look trailer highlighted that they would no longer slide along the edges of the console, and would instead snap into a place with a new port located on their sides.

Button placement has mostly been kept the same, save for a new nameless addition that sits beneath the home button. The jury’s still out on what this does. Otherwise, the trailer mostly focused on button-pressing and analog stick-twiddling, suggesting that these versions of the Joy-Con will be more tactile than their predecessor.

When is the next Nintendo Switch 2 Direct?

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is set to take place on April 2, 2025. Viewers should expect to receive more details around the console and its launch line-up of games on this date.