Nintendo fans are just realising that a new console is coming sooner than expected

THE NINTENDO Switch is over six years old, which by console standards means it’s coming to the end of its cycle.

There has been a lot of discussion over which Switch 2 features players would like to see, but nothing has been announced officially.

Despite this, there have been numerous reports of its existence, with many sources claiming that dev kits are with key developers.

A dev kit is a piece of hardware that will run games in the same way the console would, though it usually has different features.

Dev kits often don’t look like the final console, and have extra functionality for running unfinished games.

Given the usual cycle between developer kits and launch, it seems likely that the Switch 2 will launch before the end of 2024.

This also lines up with the profits that Nintendo has reported to investors for the Fiscal Year 2025.

According to a report by Eurogamer, there are completed Switch 2 consoles that will be similar to the ones players will be able to purchase.

The consoles were apparently shown to developers at Gamescom 2023, and they were allowed to try out a tech demo of Breath of the Wild running on the upgraded hardware.

Breath of the Wild’s tech demo does not mean that the game will relaunch on Switch 2, as existing games are often used to show off new hardware.

The report does further cement the idea that the Switch 2 may not be too far away.

Further, VGC reports that the upcoming Matrix game was demoed on the console and appeared to run smoothly.

This is particularly impressive as the footage shown last year wowed fans with its hyper-realistic graphics.

Both of these reports follow similar stories that GLHF has been told by sources.

Nintendo is also apparently aiming for a £349 ($399) price point for Switch 2, which will be a far beefier system.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.