After several months of rumour, and weeks of more and more detailed leaks, Nintendo has officially dropped the launch video for the Switch 2 on YouTube.
Rather than hold a dedicated press event, which is what you would really expect for the follow up to one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time, Nintendo chose to drop a video for the forthcoming Switch 2 unannounced onto YouTube. No specific details, no specific release date beyond the simple '2025', but a new Switch all the same. And - hallelujah - there's at least a new Mario Kart game launching with it too.
Nintendo promises more details will be coming at the start of April, but for now this is what we know.
It keeps the same form factor as the Switch, but overhauls it at the same time. The screen is bigger (OLED 4K we hope), the dock is bigger, there's a proper kickstand, and the joycons have been rejigged to have a magnetic attachment and, if we're interpreting the video right, look to be able to operate as optical mice as well.
Nintendo has already announced that it will support most original Switch games, both physical and digital, and we'd expect to see a certain amount of upgrading of Triple-A titles to new editions as part of that. A beefed up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? We are so here for that.
The only game shown in the trailer was a new Mario Kart. This will not be before time, as the original Mario Kart 8 on which the current Switch 1 title is based on, appeared all the way back in 2014 on the Wii U. It remains stupidly playable to this day, which is part of what makes Nintendo Nintendo; the playability of the games is almost guaranteed. But having some new horsepower, even if it is still likely to be underpowered in comparison to pretty much everything else out there, will be very welcome indeed.