Another round of Nintendo Switch 2 leaks is here, and this time conversations at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) have seemingly revealed the release window for Nintendo's upcoming console.
The wait for the Switch 2's release has been an excruciating one for fans, as more and more information about the hybrid gaming machine seems to make its way online without any proper acknowledgment from Nintendo.
The Japanese gaming giant has confirmed several details about the Switch successor, including that it would be announced "within this fiscal year" (which ends on March 31). Aside from that though, fans have largely been in the dark about when to expect Nintendo's next-gen offering.
CES Report Reveals Switch 2 Release Month... And It's Soon
A new report out of CES seems to have allegedly revealed the Nintendo Switch 2's release window.
French outlet Numerama wrote in their coverage of the Las Vegas-based event, they had heard from a source on the show floor that the Switch 2 is getting primed for a global release sometime in April.
The tech site mentioned they had heard the information from a representative of accessory maker Genki, who also may have leaked what the console may end up looking like with a 'dummy' Switch 2 they have made up to help promote their upcoming product offerings.
Because Genki is not officially partnered with Nintendo, the accessory manufacturer is not contractually obligated to withhold information for its upcoming offerings, allowing them to display stand-ins for the unannounced console without any legal repercussions.
This comes as Switch 2 leaks have become widespread online. Genki is not the only accessory maker seemingly brandishing Nintendo's unannounced console before it is officially revealed.
Mere days ago, a full render of the new gaming machine was spotted in a Japanese Amazon listing, giving fans an alleged first proper look at the Nintendo Switch 2 before release (read more about the Nintendo Switch 2 console leaks here).
Some seem to think an announcement for the Switch 2 is imminent (likely expected before the end of January), but with no official word from Nintendo, fans have been left to speculate for themselves.
Will The Switch 2 Be Released In April?
Insiders have long pontificated that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be released sometime this spring. It is just a matter of when.
Basically, since the dream of a Fall 2024 debut for the console died, the working theory moved to early 2025. Some may remember that the original Switch came out in March 2017, skirting Nintendo's typical fall release for its home consoles.
This led many to think the Switch 2 would follow suit, coming out around the same time in the year as its 2017 predecessor. Funnily enough, April would fall right into that.
Something going against this April release rumor though is just how quick a turnaround that would be between announcement and debut. Typically new consoles have been announced anywhere between nine and four months before release.
The Nintendo Switch was announced in October 2016, getting a second look in January 2017, and then came out five most after its initial unveil in March. If the Nintendo Switch 2 is announced in January (like it is rumored to be), that would be a lean three-month announce-to-release window.
While not an impossibility, that is a pretty tight gap between the world seeing the console for the first time and it hitting store shelves. It would also seemingly do away with this second look the original Switch got, where it focused on the games coming to the machine at (and beyond) launch.
Nintendo could very well prove skeptics of this April date wrong and mash those two news beats into one, revealing the console as well as its software lineup (which is rumored to include a hotly-anticipated Nintendo sequel) all on the same day.
But, if it were to do so, the Japanese gaming giant would be working in uncharted territory, breaking the pattern it set forth with the Switch 1.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to be released sometime this year.
