Nintendo Switch 2 could still cut into 2025's busy schedule

Key conclusions

• The Nintendo Switch 2 faces stiff competition from highly anticipated non-Switch games slated for release in 2025.
• Some 2025 games could potentially see Switch 2 editions, but exclusives like Death Stranding 2 likely won't.
• The Switch 2 could benefit from upcoming Nintendo exclusives like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: ZA.

Initially, it was believed that Art Nintendo Switch 2 will be launched sometime in early 2025, but recent reports of delays to the start of mass production indicate that it could be a bit later. However, the more rumors and leaks about the Nintendo Switch 2, the more it seems that its impending launch will become a reality.

If the Nintendo Switch 2 is indeed aiming for a 2025 release, it may need even more work to be in the spotlight. As time goes on, more and more highly anticipated titles are either confirmed for a 2025 launch or pushed back from 2024 to the following year, potentially overshadowing the console's initial reception. However, there may still be a way for the Switch 2 to cut through the noise.

The Nintendo Switch 2 could still make a name for itself in 2025

2025 already has a great lineup of highly anticipated non-switchable games

While not every title slated for 2025 has been given a release date just yet, there are plenty of highly anticipated titles that the Nintendo Switch 2 could compete with for attention. The full list of video games released in 2025 is much longer, but the following non-Switch games are likely to have and will continue to capture the attention of many before 2024 is over:

• Assassin's Creed Shadows (February 14)
• He confessed (February 18)
• Borderlands 4 (TV)
• Death Stranding 2: On the beach (TVA)
• The awakening of the dune (TVA)
• A fable (TVA)
• FBC Firebreak (TVA)
• Yotei's ghost (TVA)
• Grand Theft Auto 6 (TVA)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (February 11)
• Like a Dragon: A Yakuza Pirate in Hawaii (February 21)
• Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra (TVA)
• Wild monster hunters (February 28)

Some of the biggest games of 2025 could announce Switch 2 releases

Despite a tight schedule for video game launches in 2025, the Nintendo Switch 2 could still win if some of the titles slated for next year reveal plans to release on the Switch 2 as well at the last minute. Of course, any titles that are already being released as exclusives to their console or brand will likely never make it to the Switch 2 – for example Death Stranding 2, He confessed, Yotei's ghostand A fable. There are also non-exclusive titles that might be too intense for the Nintendo Switch 2, e.g Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra.

However, there are games coming out in 2025 whose franchise history points to the possibility of them launching on the Nintendo Switch 2. For example, although Borderlands 4 currently not confirmed to launch on Switch, could potentially hit Switch 2 as every game in the The border the series is already available on the Switch. Wild monster hunters it's another title that would make sense for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, as it was before Monster hunter games appeared on the first Switch.

The Nintendo Switch has two noteworthy exclusives coming in 2025

At least the Nintendo Switch has two exclusives slated for release in 2025 that the Switch 2 could benefit from. The games in question Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: ZAboth of which have considerable weight in the industry. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond no official release date yet, but it has been confirmed to launch in 2025 after a nearly 18-year wait since the last Metroid Prime game Pokemon Legends: ZA it doesn't have an exact release date yet, but it's just as anticipated after the positive reception of its predecessor, Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Time will tell if the Nintendo Switch 2 comes out next year, and if it has what it takes to cut through the noise that each of 2025's biggest games will inevitably create. Hopefully some of the non-exclusive games of 2025 will give the Switch 2 a chance, but at least Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: ZA are listed for Switch and possibly even Switch 2.