Nintendo’s new system launch in 2025 has grown the Nintendo community, inevitably. However, for longstanding Nintendo fans post launch, the new system boasts a slow release schedule. Considering how packed 2017 was for the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch 2 pales in comparison. Of course, this is mostly in regard to first-party games, such as Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. The Switch 2 has Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza as their fresh system exclusive games, but that might not just be enough. Instead, the Switch 2 is filling in the gaps with upgrade rereleases of original Switch games. Some of these games offer new content, though most only offer a graphical upgrade, at a higher price. Hardcore fans are going to find it hard to experience new Nintendo content this year.

Not Enough Big Nintendo Games

Filling in the gaps this year are several third-party releases already available on other platforms. Big names include Final Fantasy VII Remake and Elden Ring, described as must-haves. This is good of course, but doesn’t offer the unique Nintendo experience we’ve been waiting for. Something that has worsened this is the Nintendo game drought in 2024. The lack of big releases was so bad for the industry in general that the Game of the Year award realistically came down to a couple releases. Nintendo’s releases that year were totally excluded from the conversation.

Having this long wait, only to have to wait longer does no good for the hardcore fan. It causes an inactivity, and if it doesn’t, it leaves no excitement for the community. Some fans already have a lukewarm response to Mario Kart World, making Donkey Kong Banaza the center of attention. Games like Bananza are the ones we want: AAA Nintendo experiences outright.

The Original Switch Launch Year

Not only did 2017 have Mario and Zelda, but it included its own Mario Kart, a new series (Arms), a new Splatoon game and a new Xenoblade.  The original Switch also boasted a great third-party lineup that year, including big games like Doom (2016) and Skyrim. It is hard trying not to compare 2025 to 2017, when Nintendo really showed up for their fans. But many fans feel like they’ve already waited enough, especially with the alleged delay of the Switch 2 in the first place. If 2024 is to be included, then there has roughly been over a year and a half of no big Nintendo releases until Switch 2 finally launched. The concerning thing about all of this isn’t just that there are no releases, but that there won’t be for a while.

Where Are the Biggest Nintendo Franchises?

Donkey Kong Bananza is confirmed to be developed by the same team behind Super Mario Odyssey. That begs the question: Where is the next 3D Mario? The 3D Mario series is one of Nintendo’s biggest, yet it doesn’t seem to be on the calendar as of yet. On top of that, other big name series don’t have the timing working out for them either. Games always have several years of development, now especially being a worsening issue. This directly impacts the releases for Switch 2 because the major series have already launched their newest entries. 2023 was the year of Super Mario Wonder, Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4 and Fire Emblem Engage.

That is four first-party series, not likely to get a new entry for several years. What makes things worse are the Switch 2 rereleases. There’s little reason that Kirby, Metroid or Mario Party would get a second entry this year. That leaves no other big name Nintendo franchises announced for 2025, aside the new Pokémon Legends game. The year of 2025, for the hardcore fan, is officially dead.

12 Months of Switch 2

But what if we were to consider the 12-month period post launch, rather than this calendar year? That would give us a bigger window of possible releases till June of next year. This is the good news: we already have some decent announcements. Tomadachi Life: Living the Dream, Rhythm Heaven Groove, and Splatoon Raiders are all releasing 2026. The caveat here is that these aren’t confirmed in the first half of 2026—but it’s pretty likely anyway.

The issue here, for the presumed minority, is that only one of these releases are exclusive to the Switch 2. I don’t think that is an issue for most fans; much less, considering that these aren’t rereleases. While most Nintendo games even through 2026 will in fact be cross-gen, the definitive way to play will be on Switch 2. And it isn’t as if hardcore fans are exclusive to the Switch 2: there are over 150 million Switch owners, and only 6 million Switch 2 owners. We can also include Metroid Prime 4: Beyond within this lineup, as a cross-gen title. Conservatively speaking, there should be enough here to survive on, until the bigger releases do come. But what can we expect after those games already announced?

What Kinds of Games Are We Getting?

In a recent meeting with shareholders, Nintendo shared bits of information regarding their future plans. This came in a questions and answers segment in the meeting. One of the last questions, directed at Nintendo President Furukawa, was concerned about increasing development costs. Furukawa responded:

“Our development teams are devising various ways to maintain our traditional approach to creating games amidst the increasing scale and length of development. We believe it is important to make the necessary investments for more efficient development. We also believe it is possible to develop game software with shorter development periods that still offer consumers a sense of novelty.”

This is a crucial statement for releases in the near future. This is supported by the kinds of games already announced. Both Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi Life are small, low-budget Nintendo series. Splatoon Raiders might be the most direct example of what Furukawa is saying, being a spinoff of the Splatoon series. Spinoffs are notorious for being low-budget but also recurring and quick releases. Other examples include any series with the Mario name aside from the 3D and 2D main series. Wario is particularly a franchise known for games with a smaller scope—offering “a sense of novelty.” The Wario Land series is known for its great platformer titles and the WarioWare series is popular for its collage of microgames.

With the statement from Nintendo, and the inevitable return of spinoffs, 2026 could be a big year for smaller releases. Not only that, but further remasters and remakes could also show up next year. This is likely due to the ending life cycle of the original Switch; meaning more announcements are unavoidable. However, Nintendo being Nintendo, there’s no reason to rule out any pleasant surprises either.

Spinoffs

As seen with the Splatoon Raiders announcement, it seems Nintendo isn’t opposed to creating spinoffs. However, if we look back, it isn’t spinoffs that is the surprise element here. The Splatoon series itself is a relatively new Nintendo intellectual property—an entirely new franchise. There is also another franchise which was created in 2017: the Arms franchise. The release in 2017 wasn’t particularly successful, but does express Nintendo’s endless search for new ideas.

What this information posits, is that we could get a new franchise, exclusive to the Switch 2 generation. This doesn’t only include franchises that have series with periodic releases, but games from the experimental divisions at Nintendo. There’s proof of it already: the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program. Select play testers of the program shared details on it, describing it as a new community gaming experience. It stinks of “Nintendo experimental game” all over, and some testers think it’s fun. This seems to be a gaming experience that will definitely come in the near future.

New Experiences

There are other experimental experiences Nintendo had also tried out for the Switch that could continue on in spirit. The big ones that come to mind are Nintendo Labo and Nintendo Switch Sports. Games that innovate or directly use the Nintendo Switch 2 technology are another inevitability for Nintendo. The issue here though, is for the hardcore fans that aren’t receptive to these experiences. That is evident based on the reception of the upcoming game Drag x Drive. This game may not be exciting at the moment, but the game’s production group is also known for other popular series. They developed the Brain Age games, and software such as Nintendo Badge Arcade and StreetPass Mii Plaza.

For those who were there for the 3DS days, these were crucial and even daily playthroughs for us. It in one way, described the whole experience. So coupling the playtest program and software experiences of the Switch systems, fans can remain optimistic. One can theorize that once the “free” period of GameChat is over on March 31, 2026, that Nintendo will expand Nintendo Switch Online further. Nintendo already indicated plans to expand the service, through GameChat and their revamped Nintendo eShop. I would personally bet that the expansion of their Nintendo Switch Online service will come to be in 2026. This would fit itself within that 12 month post launch period of the Switch 2.

Keeping Expectations Low

Is there reason to be excited as harcore Nintendo fan? Maybe not so. It is going to be a long period without big first-party AAA Nintendo releases, and that’s honestly the bottomline for many. But as a fan of the general Nintendo gaming experience, there is room to be cautiously optimistic. There will be new titles, there will be new features added to the Switch 2, and there will be the usual Nintendo magic as always. It is probably for the best to keep expectations low, as Nintendo slows down and takes their time. Nintendo as a company is bigger than ever: there is just too much for them to operate as they had before. For the meantime, maybe it’s not so bad to chisel away at our Nintendo backlog.