Nintendo is coming off a year of two halves in 2025. In our look back, I pointed out that there was a significant trajectory change when the Switch 2 arrived in June, meaning the challenge for the ‘House that Mario Built’ is maintaining that momentum.
And, to its credit, Nintendo looks poised to do that with a series of exclusives, stronger third-party support than the original Switch saw in its lifetime, and those all-important Switch 2 editions of games, potentially with an extended array of bundles.
After Switch 2’s big launch, here’s everything we’re expecting in 2026, and the big questions that remain for Nintendo’s next year.
Lots of exclusives, but where’s Mario?
The Nintendo Switch 2’s first few months have given us Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and while a couple of them are on the prior generation hardware, Nintendo already has plenty of exclusives lined up for the first quarter of 2026.
Between January and March, we’ll get Mario Tennis Fever, Pokopia, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Given that the latter entry was Switch 1’s second-best-selling title, expect the upgrade to draw a crowd. That brings us to other Switch 2 upgrades, too. Super Mario Bros. Wonder will get a Switch 2 Edition, for example, which is great.
However, Nintendo’s pricing is all over the place. Some releases get performance upgrades for free (or are otherwise available cheaply), which is very welcome, but others feel less easy to recommend, like Super Mario Party Jamboree.
Thankfully, there are new games to count on, too. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and the inevitable reveal of more first-party titles at an as-yet-unannounced Nintendo Direct feel like they’re likely to appeal to existing Nintendo fans. Still, with a Mario movie sequel arriving in 2026, we’d wager the company’s mascot will get some kind of 3D platformer around that time to coincide with its release – especially given Super Mario Odyssey will be nine years old at that point. Nine!
For the first time in a long time, Nintendo’s first year looks packed with third-party support, too. Many publishers took a more reactive approach to the original Switch, but Nintendo won them over in time.
With the likes of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Elden Ring making their Nintendo debuts, there’s an argument that it’s still waiting for big games years after launch, but new releases are mounting up, too. 007 Fire Light, Resident Evil: Requiem, Reanimal, and Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined are all launching in the next few months, while the Bloodborne-looking The Duskbloods by FromSoftware remains a Switch 2 exclusive.
Expect fresh bundles, but no new hardware
Amazon dropped the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 during the Black Friday shopping period, suggesting it might not be out of the question to expect more discounts in 2026 – but I wouldn’t bank on anything widespread, especially since the console is selling well at the turn of the year.
Instead, expect more bundles. Nintendo put Mario Kart World and Pokémon Legends: Z-A in bundles within the Switch 2’s first few months, and it’s likely that’ll continue with other titles in 2026.
One of the few gripes many have with the Switch 2 is that it’s not packing an OLED screen, but it still feels too soon for a hardware revision of that magnitude. I also think it’s too soon for a Switch 2 Lite – both of those feel like solid products for 2027 at the earliest if Nintendo follows its own playbook.
On the other hand, expect plenty more Joy-Con 2 options for the new system, with plenty of color options and maybe a new Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller design, too, which ties in with some kind of big launch. There’s already precedent for that, with a limited edition design based on Resident Evil Requiem launching on February 27 – the same day as the game itself.
The questions that remain
It’s a case of ‘so far, so good’ for Nintendo right now, with the company avoiding the supply constraints of the last generation while also packing in a whole host of exclusives early on. A second year can be tricky, but Nintendo’s wide library of exclusives (and the fact we’ve not had a Switch 2 Mario or Zelda title yet) means things are likely to continue smoothly.
Perhaps the biggest question right now is about the original Switch. It’s no doubt earned its place in the company’s pantheon of products, but will Nintendo discontinue it or leave it as an affordable entry point for consumers? Does it need to cut the string that ties cross-gen games to it in order to push devs towards Switch 2?
And, while its third-party credentials look very promising for the next six months, will that continue? Will the likes of Square Enix expect too much of a port of Final Fantasy 7 Remake (six years after its debut), leading to it toning down its Switch 2 output? We’ll find out in the months to come, but for now, things are looking positive.
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