Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Release Date Rumors, Everything We Know So Far

Nintendo is about to tell us a whole lot more about the Nintendo Switch sequel on April 2. Here’s what we know and what we’re still guessing.

Mario’s getting a makeover, and it’s imminent. The 8-year-old Nintendo Switch is about to get a sequel, and we’ll know a lot more on April 2. Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 via a several-minute-long YouTube trailer earlier this year that showed off the new console’s contours and a single Mario Kart game but little else. But we’ll know a ton more in a Nintendo Direct video that’s expected to be an hour long, tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET. You can follow CNET’s announcement live blog for the news and commentary, starting now.

We also know Nintendo will be showcasing the Switch 2 soon in hands-on gameplay as part of a world tour that was extremely hard to win free tickets to. If you missed the tour, there’ll be a Nintendo video series on April 3 to 4 that will show deeper dives into Switch 2 gameplay. What we don’t know yet is price or release date. It could go on sale sometime around when Nintendo’s next Super Nintendo World theme park opens at Universal Studios Florida this May or June, but we probably won’t know that until April 2. The latest reports, however, point to a June release.

The countdown is underway, and these are the knowns and the unknowns so far. The Switch 2 was rumored for a long time, and its reality closely matches previous leaks. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be surprises. In fact, we’re counting on them.

A familiar formula

Signs point to a big jump in gaming power — don’t expect something on the order of a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but you should expect a console that can finally play higher-end games at higher resolutions, and has improved controllers too. That’s okay with me. And, according to a recent CNET survey, it’s more than okay with most people who responded. The Switch 2’s propositions sound like they’re already appealing to a lot of people, even if it seems iterative. That’s also because it’s been a very long time since the Switch has gotten a true hardware successor.

Recent reactions online initially seemed a little disappointed in the Switch 2 perhaps not being a hardware powerhouse, but keep in mind the relative landscape and Nintendo itself. Handheld game systems have to split differences in performance and power efficiency in ways that plugged-in megaconsoles don’t: Consider Valve’s Steam Deck as a template.

It’s also worth remembering that Nintendo likes to keep its hardware affordable. Plenty of Nintendo consoles made magic with older graphics chipsets. As far as my expectations for Switch hardware performance, I’d think it would feel as good as or slightly better than what the current Steam Deck can pull off.

Price unknown: will it be $400? Or higher?

Nintendo’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, told investors that the April 2 Nintendo Direct, and the hands-on experiences afterwards, will be used to determine consumer demand for the system. Pricing is still being considered, with reports suggesting anywhere from $350 to $500. Nintendo’s aim here is affordability, however, so expect something not so incredibly expensive that people won’t have money left over to buy games. Maybe it’s best to be prepared for a price around $499, just in case.

It wouldn’t be any surprise if the new console were at least $400, since the many-year-old Switch debuted at $300. Inflation alone would merit a price uptick of nearly $90. Could it hit $500? Or could Nintendo sell different configs, similar to what Microsoft and Sony are already doing? Reports also suggest higher prices for the games themselves, possibly around $70 for big first-party games.

And yet, the most recent reports seem to be suggesting prices no higher than $400 and possibly even less. Nintendo’s Switch Online subscription price could see an increase instead, based on one report from a purported retailer via Reddit. Maybe higher-priced games and subscriptions would be Nintendo’s way of making up for the lower hardware cost.

Nintendo’s showing it off on tour

Nintendo offered a chance to win free tickets to anyone with a Nintendo Account to attend a hands-on experience of the Switch 2 in a number of world cities, but it was hard for even our colleagues at CNET to win. (There is a waitlist, though.)

New York, April 4 to 6
Los Angeles, April 11 to 13
Dallas, April 25 to 27
Toronto, April 25 to 27
Paris, April 4 to 6
London, April 11 to 13
Milan, April 25 to 27
Berlin, April 25 to 27
Madrid, May 9 to 11
Amsterdam, May 9 to 11
Melbourne, May 10 to 11
Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26 to 27
Seoul, May 31 to June 1
Hong Kong and Taipei, TBA

It’ll be backward compatible with the Switch

No worries: the Switch 2 can play older Nintendo Switch cartridges and digital games. Almost all of them, at least. And upcoming Switch games are already known to play on the original Switch as well: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends Z-A.

Nintendo previously confirmed the Switch 2 would be backward compatible with both Nintendo Switch games and Nintendo Switch Online. Backward compatibility for Nintendo game consoles isn’t new. Many TV-connected Nintendo consoles and handhelds could play games from the immediate last generation before it: the Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, for instance. But the original Switch made a clean break from the Wii U and 3DS and ran its own software. I’m glad that’s not happening again.

As for the few games Nintendo says may not be compatible? I’m guessing they’re games that needed specific older Switch hardware, like Nintendo Labo or Ring Fit Adventure.

It means you should be perfectly safe treating the next Nintendo console as an upgrade for your existing Switch and its game library. That’s the whole idea.

New games expected: Mario Kart for sure, but also Mario, Xbox Games and more

Nintendo revealed only one game in its most recent trailer: a new Mario Kart game, which appears to have 24 simultaneous players. As for the rest of the lineup, we may not know until April. Still, reports have given us ideas.

Based on the most recent reports, Nintendo’s expected to announce a new 3D Mario game as well, arriving later this year. Super Mario Odyssey, the Switch’s first new 3D Mario game, is already more than 7 years old. Well-regarded leaker Nate the Hate detailed the reports on his YouTube channel.

Reports also point to Xbox games debuting on Switch, with a Halo compilation and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 being the first. Other games may include Final Fantasy VII Remake, Red Dead Redemption II and Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Microsoft’s gaming head, Phil Spencer, has already teased games arriving on Nintendo’s next system.

Based on what we think Nintendo’s graphics power on the Switch 2 will be, it’s likely safe to assume a lot of previously unavailable Xbox and PlayStation games might finally be able to make the move sooner than later, including notable Switch no-show Madden.

Staggered release dates for games?

You might have to be patient for your favorite games to hit Switch 2. Past Nintendo history suggests that’s practically a guarantee. A recent report points to a staggered release schedule, where a couple of AAA Nintendo games lead off the first release, while third party games and more Nintendo games follow between here and the holidays. The report says developer kits may not even be available yet.

Regardless, that sounds like what the original Switch’s game release calendar felt like. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out alongside the Switch, but many games slowly became available later on.

Specs and features? Double USB-C for sure

The Switch 2 is definitely bigger than the original Switch and seemingly thicker. It reportedly has an 8-inch screen, up from the 7-inch Switch OLED, and it definitely has USB-C ports on both the top and bottom of the console this time. The handheld will dock just like the Switch, but that extra USB-C port suggests something else: maybe accessories and, who knows, support for secondary displays like glasses.

The Steam Deck, laptops and most phones already support video-out modes that work with display glasses like those made by Xreal and others. It would be a great bonus to have this work on a new Nintendo Switch 2 and could even hint at Nintendo making some glasses-like accessory of its own. That’s speculation on my part, but considering Nintendo had its own cardboard VR kit for the Switch and a remote-controlled AR race car, not impossible.

There’s also a headphone jack again, and a rear handle-shaped kickstand bends all the way back to rest the Switch 2 at a variety of angles for tabletop play, similar to the Switch OLED model.

Joy-Cons updates: Magnetic, more buttons, and also doubling as mice?

The Switch 2’s Joy-Cons are similar-looking but definitely new and bigger. The beefier controllers snap more easily onto the Switch body and external controller adapters, and the Joy-Con side edges look to have an extra set of shoulder buttons. It looks like the triggers are improved, and an extra button below the right Joy-Con stick has appeared too.

We didn’t get hard confirmation, but these controllers look magnetic. One report from game controller manufacturer Mobapad goes into detail on the magnetic system as well as extra buttons on the controllers.

Will that allow for new accessories as well? I’m curious how modular the next Switch successor could be. The current Switch doesn’t have other accessories that slot into the side rails to replace the Joy-Cons, but might there be peripheral surprises with the next version? We’ll see. There’s a stick-out pin connector inside that looks like a new type of interface.

The biggest wildcard is that the new Joy-Cons may have optical sensors that turn them into mice. This was reported earlier, but the teaser trailer shows the Joy-Cons sliding along a table in exactly that type of mouse-like way, and a recent patent filing looks like a pretty strong confirmation.

Graphics should get a big boost to play more current-gen games

Reports going back to 2023 and earlier have pegged the next Switch as having revamped graphics capable of handling current-gen console games that the current Switch can’t. Think of games like Death Stranding or Elden Ring or Madden NFL. The next Nintendo console should still be a combo console with handheld and TV-docking modes, especially since that model is one the rest of the industry is slowly drifting toward (see the Steam Deck and a wave of PC gaming handhelds).

How high-end will the TV docking graphics feel compared with the handheld mode? It’s possible that TV docking could flex 4K gaming, but handheld modes could reduce frame rates and be limited to what’s been reported to be a 1080p LCD screen. That makes sense: The Steam Deck, in comparison, still has only a 1,200×800-pixel resolution display, and it looks just fine for most games.

According to Digital Foundry and others, an Nvidia T239 processor looks to be the likely chip inside the next console. This chipset’s notable features include ray tracing and PlayStation 4-level or better graphics, along with the possibilities of faster load times, added AI capability and the ability to upscale to 4K or downscale as needed for more efficient handheld gaming modes.

More recent reports of what could show leaked internals of the Switch 2 motherboard suggest even more details: 12GB of RAM, 256GB of onboard storage and an ability to auto-upscale games to higher 4K resolutions on a TV using AI.

Nintendo hasn’t revealed any performance specs yet, but expect a big boost that could make this feel a lot more up to date for current third-party games. And AI upscaling should be a big part of the Switch 2’s feature set.

Expect other surprises

One thing I feel personally confident about, knowing Nintendo, is to expect the unexpected. Nintendo loves a good, weird surprise. No matter how seemingly normal the reported Switch 2 design leaks seem, history says Nintendo will throw curveballs.

This fall already prepped us: We got a surprise Nintendo alarm clock (!) and a streaming Nintendo music service. In the past, who could have predicted Nintendo Labo or Mario Kart Live or, going back further, the Wii’s odd controller design, the Nintendo DS’s dual-screen design or even the Nintendo 3DS’ glasses-free 3D? Whimsy is Nintendo’s calling card.

Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, said as much in an interview with the AP in 2023: “One of the things we look at always is how can we surprise and delight. How can we introduce new, unique ways of playing. That’s always in front of our mind.”

The current-gen Switch had its own surprises baked in, like its infrared camera on one of the Joy-Cons that can measure heart rate and track finger movement. Will the Switch 2 have a new standout feature that’s equally whimsical and surprising? I’d be surprised if it didn’t.

That possible optical sensor on the Switch 2 could be one of the surprises. The optical sensor could turn one of the Joy-Cons into a mouse, similar to what Lenovo’s Legion Go has. It’s a clever idea, but for what exactly?

I’m still even more curious about what extra accessories the Switch 2 could support, either via its extra USB-C port or those new side Joy-Con slots.

We’ll know more April 2

The news is almost here, and we expect a lot. Besides the Direct April 2, through April and May Nintendo will be demoing the Switch 2 at a series of hands-on experiences around the world. I’d expect that Nintendo announces preorder information April 2 at 9am ET and then makes the Switch 2 available to buy before summer breaks kick in. May or June would allow Nintendo to have a head start getting supplies in order for the holidays (hopefully).

Right now, hold off on buying a new Switch, but buying Switch games should be fine. We’ll update with more news when we hear it, but for now consider the Switch 2 a very real and overdue upgrade from the Switches we’ve been playing for years.

Technologies

Microsoft’s Nadella says AI needs an ‘emergency brake’ that humans control

Nadella joined other tech moguls and researchers in calling for stronger safeguards and, in some cases, for the pacing of frontier development.

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Technologies

Kremlin Confirms Putin Transmitted Iran’s War Resolution Plan to Trump

The Kremlin says Putin relayed Iran’s proposal for ending the war to Trump, while Trump announced a Russian diesel supply deal that drew sharp criticism from Zelenskyy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin communicated Tehran’s perspective on a potential conclusion to the conflict in Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Russian state media reports on Saturday.

This disclosure follows Trump’s Friday statement that Russia will provide diesel to global markets amid soaring energy prices driven by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that Putin conveyed the message to Trump “in agreement with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian,” per a Google translation.

Additional Russian media accounts indicate Putin spoke with Trump by phone after meeting Pezeshkian on the margins of a summit in Turkmenistan.

Interfax did not detail the specifics of how Iran envisions the war — which erupted on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets — reaching an end.

The White House did not immediately respond to Verum’s emailed request to confirm the reported conversation between Putin and Trump.

Russia supply deal

Trump announced Friday that Russia will deliver more than 4 million tons of diesel to the global market under an arrangement he said he agreed with Putin during a phone call.

Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons immediately after, Trump posted on Truth Social. Moscow will then provide another 3 million tons of diesel contingent on the condition of Russia’s refineries, Trump added.

The Treasury Department temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel through April 2027 under a general license issued Friday.

Iran has intensified attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with vessels coming under fire almost daily as Tehran attempts to choke off a rebound in crude exports.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard official stated Wednesday that Iran will block all “illicit routes” through Hormuz, according to the Fars News Agency, an outlet considered close to the Guard.

The surge in tanker attacks coincides with crude oil exports from the Middle East rebounding in September to prewar levels, largely because the U.S. military escorted ships through Hormuz along Oman’s coast.

An interim agreement signed in June between the U.S. and Iran to pause hostilities to allow for negotiations quickly collapsed.

‘Gifts to Putin’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately denounced Trump’s diesel deal with Putin. Ukraine’s leader warned that easing sanctions without a commitment from Russia to de-escalate the war will only prolong it.

“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.”

Diesel prices have surged worldwide as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports to global markets. Iran and its Houthi allies have also attacked refineries in the Middle East, further constraining fuel supplies.

Trump faces mounting political pressure to lower fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans confront competitive races in conservative strongholds like Iowa, where farmers feel the pinch of high diesel prices.

Technologies

AI is Changing How Lawyers Work — and Putting the Billable Hour Under Pressure

AI is reshaping the legal industry by reducing the time needed for routine tasks, challenging the traditional billable hour model, and changing how lawyers learn and practice.

Artificial intelligence is now used by almost 90% of legal professionals in the U.K. and Ireland, and it’s putting one of the profession’s oldest conventions — the billable hour — under the microscope. That’s according to legal software company Clio’s U.K. & Ireland Legal Insights Report 2026.

It found that among firms using AI, almost 80% said they can handle more work without increasing resources, while over 70% said it cut costs by absorbing administrative work once done by support staff.

As a result, AI is challenging some of the assumptions on which the legal profession was built, forcing firms to reevaluate how their lawyers spend their time, how they charge for it and how new lawyers learn the ropes. You can’t charge 16 hours for something that takes 16 secondsNick Rowles-DaviesLexolent Some of the U.K.’s biggest firms are already putting this into practice.

A&O Shearman has worked with legal AI company Harvey to develop artificial intelligence agents for tasks, including reviewing loan agreements and analyzing regulatory filings, which it says can complete in minutes work that previously took several hours. Slaughter and May, meanwhile, has rolled out Harvey across all practice areas this year, including for regulatory research and document analysis.

Billable hour pressure The billable hour is central to the business model of many law firms, but when AI significantly reduces the time lawyers spend sifting through and drafting documents, the economics are no longer so straightforward. “You can’t charge 16 hours for something that takes 16 seconds,” Nick Rowles-Davies, founder and CEO of legal finance fund Lexolent, based in London and Dubai, told CNBC.

About one in five firms that have widely adopted AI report difficulty meeting billable-hour targets, according to Clio’s report. Globally, senior legal leaders expect the share of work charged by the hour to fall from 72% to 44% over the next two to three years, according to a Deloitte survey.

Routine work is the most exposed, Rowles-Davies said. “If you’ve got standard documents and you’re just putting in detail, then clearly that’s an automatic process.” But complex legal work still requires human judgment, he added, particularly when interpreting AI output and determining the right strategy for a client.

Lawyers [are] telling us that their day is getting betterJoshua LenonClio

AI and workloads

Whether AI efficiencies ultimately make lawyers’ working lives better may depend on what firms do with the time they get back. Clio’s report found that 51% of legal professionals work evenings, but only 32% want to, while 22% work weekends compared with 11% who would choose to.

Joshua Lenon, Clio’s New York-based lawyer-in-residence, believes some lawyers are already seeing the benefits. “Lawyers [are] telling us that their day is getting better,” Lenon told CNBC, as AI becomes more commonplace.

“People are really looking at these tools and saying, ‘This is making work better.’”