Nintendo reportedly showed Switch 2 at Gamescom, but only to developers

Developers at Gamescom reportedly saw the Switch 2 running Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo Switch OLED in action.
Image via Nintendo

Nintendo reportedly showcased the Switch 2 to developers at Gamescom, along with a tech demo for Breath of the Wild running on the improved hardware. If the reports are true, the Switch 2 could be closer than we think.

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According to Eurogamer on Sept. 7, select developers were treated to private demonstrations of the Switch 2 behind closed doors. The console was said to be running an upgraded version of Breath of the Wild, but the developers didn’t confirm whether another release was in the works.

Nintendo hasn’t publicly spoken about the Switch 2 yet, but reports that the Switch 2 would be announced “at Gamescom” suggested that news about the Switch successor would be coming soon.

The first Switch launched in 2017, and it has enjoyed a surprisingly long life cycle. 2023’s Tears of the Kingdom sold over 18 million copies, although it’s widely acknowledged to be the Switch’s last major release.

Players expect the Switch 2 to release in the second half of 2024. Nintendo is notoriously secretive about its upcoming releases, so the fact that the developers are willing to show off the new console all but confirms that the Switch 2 is on its way.

Author
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Tom Foley
Tom is the UK Associate Editor for Dot Esports. He's the former TCG Editor for CBR and holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Tom spent six years as a Science Editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, and AstraZeneca before leaving science to pursue his dream career in games journalism at the start of 2023. He loves MMOs, RPGs, TCGs, and pretty much every game by FromSoftware—especially Dark Souls.