With the hardware announcement for the Switch 2 confirming everything we already knew from leaks about the Switch 2. (If you missed the announcement video read my breakdown of the trailer here)

We are 2 months away from learning more. What else is there to do than predict what Nintendo will do? You know, Nintendo, the company who is known for being unpredictable and making confusing decisions? THAT ONE!

Disclaimer – I know nothing. I have wants and years of Nintendo release knowledge. I have 0 extra info and insights – I am guessing – educated guessing – but guessing all the same. Please imagine an ‘I think’ before every sentence if there isn’t already one there.

Let’s dive into my predictions!

1. Mario Kart 9

Let’s get this out of the way. We saw a glimpse of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sequel in the hardware trailer. Tech generally has issues with using the number 9, so my guess is they’ll either skip to 10 or it will be Mario Kart 9, with a subtitle that they’ll use more.
Along with a BANK of racers, Mario Kart 9 will have all new courses for us. Of course, there will be remastered classics as there always are from the previous games, but I think we will get all new main courses and battle stages. Talking of Battle Stages, I think there will be a move toward online battles that resemble what we’ve seen in the 99 competitive series. Some will be more classic battles but the big online option will be a 99 battle stage that’s just a mess of people popping balloons or something similar. Bumper cars, like the ones at fairgrounds, are essentially what I am imagining for these re-imagined battle stages.
After the success of campaigns in games like Splatoon, I am dreaming of some sort of Mario Kart campaign. It’s a great way for players to be able to unlock things and it creates more reasons to play MK9 for the kids and adults who don’t always have people to play with to unlock new courses and characters. You could start as a racer at the bottom of the league or as a new racer on the motor sport scene and work your way up the leagues of races until you hit the Grand Prix which has more audience members and more racers to go against. This could work with the 24 spaces for racers we saw in the hardware trailer. This is a bit of a fever dream and a pitch for Nintendo, please, I want a campaign!

2. 2D Super Mario

Mario Wonder is an amazing 2D Mario, the best in a long time in many people’s opinions, including mine. I don’t see us getting another whole new 2D Mario game already. With the backward compatibility of Switch 2, I want to see Mario Wonder with some DLC. More levels or secret levels to go back and find. Realistically, if they do some Mario Wonder DLC, they will probably only make it accessible on the Switch 2. And/Or it being £30 DLC or included in Nintendo Switch Online (NSO). A couple years into Switch 2 then we might get a full Wonder sequel but I can’t see that happening in release year.

3. Mario Odyssey 2

Super Mario Odyssey blew all of us away. A big 3D adventure that felt like what they wanted Mario Galaxy to be but the technology wasn’t there yet. Mario Odyssey 2 is gonna happen, I have no clue what it’s going to have in it. But I want it, take my money. I still won’t find every moon in the game but I will try. I think I’d like to see more named and involved NPCs in each world, or more sci-fi NPCs like the Lumas. It would be great to see more of Rosalina in Odyssey 2, the same as her appearance in Galaxy 2. I think this will be a release title. Bold claim but it’s going to be the lead game with the Switch 2, the first to not be released on Switch as well.

4. Animal Crossing OR Splatoon

If you don’t know the team that makes Splatoon, also makes Animal Crossing. I think we will see a release year game from this team. I don’t know which one. I am hoping for an Animal Crossing but it’s more likely we will see Splatoon 4. There are shorter development cycles for the Splatoon series, whereas Animal Crossing has more of an 8-year gap between games, and we’re only 5 years into right now. Who knows, the success of Animal Crossing New Horizons might be what turns Nintendo into treating it as a leading games franchise. Splatoon has a huge player base, especially in Japan. If they have some new online features Splatoon is a great way to show that off.

5. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

After 300 years in development. Or at least it feels like it. Metroid Prime 4 has been through galaxies during its development. In 2019 the development restarted under Retro Studios, and in 2024 we had a release year confirmed of 2025. Metroid has had huge success on Switch, it’s not overtaking the leading boys Mario and Zelda, but Samus is chasing them up. It feels like they’ve been saving Metroid Prime 4 up to give us as a release title for the Switch 2. The planets are aligning and I can’t wait to find out more about this game, HOPEFULLY in the Switch 2 direct in April.

6. Professor Layton and the World of Steam

I am such a fangirl when it comes to the Layton franchise. I whip out my DS a couple of times a year to relive an adventure or two with the Professor. There is something so warm and cosy about the games even though the topics are occasionally heavy. Professor Layton and the World of Steam is so exciting to see, there is no other games like the Layton series with complex puzzles. Layton would have struggled controls-wise on the Switch, the touch screens were so important to the franchise’s mechanics, and the touch screen on Switch was not well used. Switch 2’s incorporation of mouse mechanics reopens the world of Layton and DS-style games to us. I can’t wait to join Luke and Layton on their American adventures this time around. I am hoping for this to be a game that comes out on release day or the first week, again I’m working with the idea that they want games to show off their new hardware.

7. Hollow Knight: Silk Song

Please no one shout at me. Hollow Knight fans have been waiting for this forever. I think we’ll get a Switch 2 exclusive window for Silk Song. The Switch became a powerhouse in making indies accessible to the casual gaming audience. We have also been waiting forever for Silk Song, why else would Team Cherry go so radio silent about Silk Song, if they weren’t under Nintendo NDAs and release times.
This one might be a push honestly, there are many things that can slow development. I think Silk Song being a Switch 2 exclusive for a while could be a great way to keep the Switchs as indie machines.

8. The Legend of Zelda Series

FINE, I WILL TALK ZELDA!
I don’t think we’re getting a new shiny Zelda with Switch 2. I said it. It’s not been that long since we got The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and that was built in the Breath of the Wild system but that development was still 5 years. Breath of the Wild took 7+ years. Whatever the Legend of Zelda team decides to do next, I think we have a while to wait yet.
However, there must be a Zelda releasing in the first year of Switch 2. I have two theories: First, we could get the long-awaited ports of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker from the Wii U. My second theory is throwing us back in the direction of DS ports. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are locked onto DS because of how much they use the dual-screen and touch-screen hardware. With the joy-cons having ‘mouse-mode’ or whatever the decide to call it. This could be the ports we see come to Switch 2. I think this could be followed by a Link Between Worlds from the 3DS coming over to Switch 2. We could also see Wind Waker in these ports, a focus on toon Link and child timeline Legend of Zelda games. Again porting games that make use of touch screens and mouse-style controls is how they can show off the stuff the hardware can do and what it can make possible. I think it’s more likely we see the DS/3DS games remastered into their HD versions.

My Unrealistic Hopes

I have some hopes and dreams for Switch 2 games that are likely not to happen, especially in the first year. But on the off chance they do happen. Here is my unrealistic hopes / would like to see.

Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: Engage sort of passed me by. I forgot it was coming out and now it’s been 2 years since it was released. Fire Emblem: Three Houses took over the world for a while, it became the most played and sold Fire Emblem game ever. I have completed it twice and love just re-exploring the world. Engage has just entered my never-ending backlog of games. I would love to see another Fire Emblem that gripped us all like Three Houses did.

Professor Layton Trilogy Bundles
DS ports have been a repeated theme I’ve brought up but what better place and time to remaster the two DS Professor Layton trilogies into tasty little bundles on Switch 2. This is so painfully unlikely. I own all the DS games, I can play them, but I would love them in more places.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 Remake/Remaster
We got Mario Galaxy remaster in the limited-time Mario All Stars. But where was the SEQUEL! I prefer Galaxy 2 to the original Mario Galaxy. Please can we have a full remake/remaster of Galaxy 2 or both. I’ll pay $80 for both because I am an idiot who buys everything Nintendo breathes on. I want to relive this game without getting annoyed by the Wii’s motion controls. I defend motion controls but I’m out of practice these days.


I have lots of expectations and hopes for Switch 2, What do you hope to see on Switch 2? What do you expect to see on Switch 2? Have I missed something that you feel is an obvious prediction for a Year 1 release?