It looks like Nintendo is finally going full steam ahead into its next console cycle, with reports now saying that development kits for that upgraded hardware is already in the hands of select studios while the company targets a late-2024 release window. Though it might have one key downgrade from the latest Switch model.
According to VGC’s sources on July 31, it appears Nintendo has provided dev kits to “key partner studios” and is currently aiming to launch its next console in the back half of 2024. Eurogamer has also stated that its sources support that release window, while also labeling the new hardware as a hybrid design like the Switch.
Those same sources note that this decision was likely made so that the Switch successor can avoid running into supply issues that plagued the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S around their launches in November 2020—and the years to follow.
Additionally, two different sources have told VGC that there is a chance the new console will launch its first model with an LCD screen like the original Switch rather than the OLED variant. This might be a cost-cutting measure Nintendo will use to improve other areas of the console such as storage and power to allow for more competitive hardware to other modern consoles.
While talking to a games industry consultant, Dr. Serkan Toto, VGC was told that, based on Nintendo’s current financials predicting the hardware sales for Switch to drop “16.5 year-on-year” from the 2022 numbers a the late-2024 release window sounds “realistic.”
Christopher Dring, ReedPop’s head of games B2B also told VGC that this timing lines up with the original Switch launching a few years after Microsoft and Sony dropped their new hardware—referring to the Switch releasing in 2017, a little less than three years after the Xbox One and PS4. But the real battle will be transitioning the Switch’s userbase to a new console, even if it does have full backwards compatibility.
“The biggest competitor Nintendo faces is itself,” Dring said to VGC. “Although its core fans are eager for more hardware, its more family-orientated ‘casual’ fans will need more convincing. What will the next Mario Kart offer that they’re currently not getting from the current one, for example? Nintendo has struggled to upgrade players in previous generations, so how it approaches things like digital libraries, the Nintendo Account, and even backwards compatibility may prove crucial in the next system getting off to a strong start.”
This wouldn’t be the first, second, or even third-time reports of a Switch successor coming at some point in the new year have left fans wanting more information since a good chunk of players are ready for a meaningful upgrade.
Nintendo has remained very tight with its wording on future console development over the last year, focusing mostly on how bullish the company is on the Switch and its lineup of titles in the coming years. It is now just a matter of time until we hear more about what is to come next, however, even if that wait extends beyond 2024.
