Today is the day! After months of teases, leaks, and speculation, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is here to fully showcase the new console from Nintendo. We’ll be bringing you all of the latest Switch 2 Direct news live right here, with insight into all of the biggest reveals and announcements as they happen.
Nintendo used a Switch 2 showcase in January to reveal the design of its incoming system, but stopped short of telling us much else. Today’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct news onslaught should go into detail on upcoming Switch 2 games and we’re even anticipating that Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders will go live later today too. That’s why you’re going to want to stick with us through our Switch 2 Direct live coverage so you don’t miss a thing.
Speaking of video games, the January showcase revealed what we can only assume to be Mario Kart 9 – with details the more eagle-eyed among us have spotted, like 24-person races. What else is on the way? We have long to wait and find out?
All of that is to say that there’s a lot to look forward to, so we’re kicking off this Switch 2 Direct live blog to cover it all. We’ll keep you up to date with all the leaks and rumours as they surface before the showcase starts to reveal the real Nintendo Switch 2 news. We’re here all day, too, so we’ll get all the reactions beyond the Nintendo Direct itself.
And on that note, let’s begin.
How to watch the Switch 2 Direct
And away we go! We hope you’re ready, as it’s going to be a big day, so let’s get to yapping.
First things first – The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct time. As per the House of Mario, The showcase is due to begin at 6am PT, 9am ET, 2pm BST, 3pm CEST. This whole thing should last an hour, so make sure you’ve used stocked up on snacks and used the bathroom.
Also, because we’re nice, the YouTube link for the stream itself is included above, so all you have to do is hit play when the time comes. There will likely be a countdown, so don’t worry if you’re a few minutes late to the stream.
And because we’re extra nice, we’re also keeping track of any rumors and news surrounding Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders, which many massive retailers are indicating may go live later today.
It would be impossible to predict what Switch 2 announcements we’ll get, so we’ve tried to do just that. From Switch 2 Enhanced games to grander third-party games, we reckon Nintendo is going big by building upon the foundations of the OG Switch. But what do you think?
Josh’s point about third-party games interests me, personally. While Nintendo had to make up some ground with the Switch following the Wii U’s less-than-ideal run, former Nintendo marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang reckon the Switch 2 could take things to another level.
“A lot of these big studios got a lot of experience and positive feedback through putting their game on the Steam Deck and translating it to a piece of hardware that’s maybe not as powerful as the high-end PC that, of course, they would envision that everyone would have that experience with,” Ellis reasons, “but they saw, ‘no wait, there’s a lot of people that want to play a version that’s maybe a little bit dialed down because they want that extra form factor.
“I’m talking about Baldur’s Gate 3. I’m talking about Elden Ring. I’m talking about Cyberpunk. The list goes on … we don’t yet know the complete under-the-hood power of the Switch 2, but it’s not crazy to say, ‘well, if it can run on a Steam Deck it probably can run on a Switch 2, right?'”
It’s a fair pitch. Nintendo consoles often appeal as they home the games you can’t play elsewhere, though playing third-party bangers on the Switch ruled – and the Steam Deck indeed built on that. It feels a little unlike Nintendo to double down on third party, though I suppose that’s also an argument to do it.
