Nintendo rules out any new Switch hardware until at least April 2023
We won't see a Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch Pro for a while yet
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny
❌ Nintendo has said that no new Nintendo hardware will release in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2023
😔 It means we’re unlikely to see a Nintendo Switch 2 or Pro model until after April 2023
🤩 The company launched the Nintendo Switch OLED in October 2021
🦑 The first limited edition Splatoon 3 Nintendo Switch OLED launches on August 26
Nintendo has ruled out the possibility of releasing any new Switch hardware until at least April 2023.
Japanese publication Nikkei reports that the company has said there won’t be any new hardware in the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2023.
The statement follows up on Nintendo’s financial earnings report, which saw Nintendo Switch sales fall amid chip shortages.
Nintendo Switch sales fell 23% in Q1 2022, and software also fell by 8.6%. However, the Kyoto-based company’s first-party games sold extremely well, and Nintendo said that demand for Switch hardware “remains stable in all regions.”
The first limited edition Nintendo Switch OLED is due out on August 26 and features a custom Splatoon 3 design for $359.99. A Splatoon 3 Pro controller and Carrying Case are also coming out on September 9 for $74.99 and $24.99, respectively.
The Nintendo Switch is rapidly approaching its sixth anniversary, but the prospect of a Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch Pro model still seems a long way off. In November last year, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the Switch was only reaching “the mid-point of its lifecycle,” which suggests the company doesn’t see the need for a new console.
Furukawa also said: “With regards to the next game system, we are considering many different things, but as far as the concept and launch timing are concerned, there is nothing we can share at this time.”
Countless rumors have circulated about Nintendo possibly releasing a 4K capable Switch, similar to how Sony and Microsoft introduced the PS4 Pro and Xbox Series X to take advantage of the widely adopted display technology. Still, so far, Nintendo hasn’t budged.
The Switch has technically seen four iterations. The first model launched in March 2017 and was later joined by the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite in 2019. Nintendo then refreshed the standard Nintendo Switch in 2019, significantly increasing the console’s battery life, and released the Nintendo Switch OLED model in October 2021.
Here come the games
The Nintendo Switch may be getting on a bit, but the games keep coming. Nintendo recently released Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Splatoon 3, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and Bayonetta 3 are due this year. Wave 2 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass is also out today.
Perhaps the biggest Switch game on the horizon, though, is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. The game’s release date was pushed back to 2023, and Nintendo hopes it can replicate the first game's success.