Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 Rundown

The Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 event revealed that the company’s new console will launch on June 5th, 2025. We also learned a lot about hardware specs, games being released for the console, and a ton of other updates in over one hour of content. We have your rundown ready to go if you missed the presentation, so let’s talk about all things Nintendo Switch 2!

The presentation begins with a reveal of Mario Kart World, the next entry in the iconic kart racing series. Grand Prix mode returns, but Knockout Tour is a new mode where you race nonstop until you are eliminated by making checkpoints. Mario Kart World will be released at the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and a bundle that offers the digital game with the console will be available at launch. While not revealed at the time of the Direct, we know now that the base console is $449 USD and the bundle with Mario Kart World is $499. Separately, the game will retail for $79.99 USD.

Next, The Nintendo Switch 2 chat system previewed GameChat, an ability to chat with four other friends while playing games. You can screen share with them, as well as use the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, priced at $49.99 USD, to see one another. Games that we’ll overview later, like Super Mario Party Jamboree, will utilize this chat and camera functionality. You can also screen share with friends as you play games, even if you’re not playing together. You will be able to focus in on one screen using the C button on the Joy Con 2.

GameChat will require an active Nintendo Switch Online membership, which can be utilized with the all-new C button on the Joy-Con 2s and will be available on Day One. Until March 2026, all Nintendo Switch 2 users can test the feature, including parental controls via the Parental Controls app.

We dive in next to the tech features of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. At 7.9 inches, the Switch 2 screen adds 1.7 inches of screen to the console and features 1080p and 1220 FPS in handheld mode. In TV mode, there is 4K support. We’ll discuss performance and quality modes later with Metroid Prime 4. Larger sticks, increased ZL and ZR buttons, and mouse functionality are confirmed for the Joy-Con 2s. The mouse support was previewed in game reveals, so we’ll touch on that later. Joy-Con 2 controllers will cost $89.99 USD to buy additional pairs.

In terms of other tech specs, the Switch 2 includes larger speakers and a built-in mic. Noise-canceling technology eliminates background noise while chatting with friends, and 3D audio is supported. There is a USB-C port at the bottom and the top of the console. To help users navigate everything from mouse mode to the new feel of the Joy-Con 2s, the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour was announced as a paid digital game at launch to help acclimate users to the new hardware.

In terms of Nintendo Switch 2 storage, Nintendo Switch 2 cartridges will be red and the same size and shape as the original Switch. The Switch 2 will only work with MicroSD Express Cards, and you will be able to System Transfer your data from an OG Switch to the new Switch 2. The Switch 2 will launch with 256GB of internal storage, which is 8 times the storage of the launch Switch console. Lastly, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller was revealed, equipped with a C button, headphone jack, and rear triggers. The controller will cost $79.99 USD.

Let’s move on now to Nintendo Switch 2 edition games. Super Mario Party Jamboree is getting new minigames and features that include mouse controls as well as camera and mic functionality. It will also support GameChat features in an expanded Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, launching July 24, 2025. You can buy an upgrade for the Nintendo Switch 2 edition if you own the Switch version.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will also get upgrades, which will be free to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers or available for purchase. You will be able to use a second-screen experience to navigate Zelda Notes, a way to traverse Hyrule with GPS-like navigation and other features. Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and both The Legend of Zelda titles will get framerate boosts and take advantage of new HDR technology.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will feature a Switch 2 version that utilizes the ability to play with mouse controls. We also learned more about potential performance mode settings. The game will offer a Quality Mode of 4K 60 FPS with HDR in TV Mode, which translates to 1080 60FPS HDR in Handheld Mode. For Performance Mode, the game will run at 1080p 120 FPS HDR for TV Mode and 720 120FPS HDR in Handheld Mode. The upcoming Pokemon Legends Arceus Z-A will also feature performance enhancements.

To highlight the new mouse functionality, the game Drag X Drive was revealed. This is a wheelchair basketball game that will utilize both joycons to move the wheelchair characters as a dual mouse mode controls and then gyro controls to shoot the basketball. This looks very much like Rocket League for wheelchair basketball, and I’m very intrigued by this one. The game will be released in the Summer of 2025. After Drag X Drive we got a ton of announcements from third-party partners. Here’s a list of games coming to the Nintendo Switch 2.

Third Party Games Revealed for the Nintendo Switch 2

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition – Later This Year
Hades II – Later This Year
Street Fighter 6 – Later This Year
Daemon X Machima: Titanic Scion – Later This Year
Split Fiction – At Launch of Nintendo Switch 2
Hogwarts Legacy – At Launch of Nintendo Switch 2
Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut – At Launch of Nintendo Switch 2

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+$ – At Launch of Title
Hitman: World of Assassination Signature Edition – At Launch of Nintendo Switch 2
Project 007 – Currently In Development
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster – At Launch of Nintendo Switch 2

STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, DELTARUNE, Survival Kids, Borderlands 4, Star Wars Outlaws, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and more were shown in quick video montages. Titles like Civilization VII also prove that some publishers will push out updates for Switch 2 versions of games for free. Civ VI‘s upgrade will be free and available at launch if you have purchased the game on Switch. WWE 2K and NBA 2K games are set to come to the Switch 2, as well as EA FC and Madden NFL.

Next, Koei Tecmo and Nintendo are teaming up for a Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom prequel game in the Hyrule Warriors franchise. A Musuo game at its core, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will launch this winter. We also learned Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will be coming to the Switch 2 later.

Next, Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics was revealed to be available at the Nintendo Switch 2 launch. Players with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership and a Nintendo Switch 2 system can access, at release, F-Zero GX, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and SOULCALIBUR II. Along with the classic games, a dedicated wireless controller designed after the original GameCube controller will be available for purchase. Other titles like Super Mario Strikers and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance will come later down the line.

In one of the most shocking announcements, FromSoftware is not only bringing Elden Ring to the Switch 2. They also announced an exclusive brand-new multiplayer game from Hidetaka Miyazaki. This multiplayer game showed off a trailer full of vampires, horrifying enemies, and more FromSoft staples. More about the game is set to be revealed in an upcoming developer diary series, Creator’s Voice, with the game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, coming on April 4th.

Masahiro Sakurai, the mastermind behind Super Smash Bros., also announced his newest project: Kirby Air Riders. This is a brand-new title originating from the Nintendo GameCube classic racing-action game Kirby Air Ride, which is set for a Nintendo Switch 2 launch later in 2025.

Finally, our one last reveal was Donkey Kong Bananza, a 3D platformer Donkey Kong game. After the direct, it was revealed this game would cost $69.99 USD, $10 less than Mario Kart World. It’s unclear what the pricing structure of all games will be for the Switch 2, but it’s curious to see such a difference between what should be two flagship titles. Donkey Kong Bananza will launch on July 17th, 2025.

With two options at launch, the Nintendo Switch 2 will give players a $30 discount for bundling the digital version of Mario Kart World into their initial purchase. You can read the official Nintendo press release regarding the Nintendo Switch 2’s price, specs, and more here. We know that two Nintendo Treehouse Live events are coming later this week, so we’ll be sure to cover those events as well as plenty of other Nintendo Switch 2 news in the coming days. For now, let us know in the comments if you have initial reactions to the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct!