Nintendo to Release New Switch Successor Due in 2024, Reports Say

‘Multiple’ sources close to video game publication VGC have suggested that Nintendo is targeting a 2024 release for its next major console, a successor to its popular Nintendo Switch.

VGC’s sources have indicated that development kits for the new Nintendo console are reportedly already with ‘key partner studios’, who will aim to ready titles for the launch of the hardware.

A number of other alleged facts about the Nintendo Switch successor suggested by VGC sources include the following:

• The new console will again be a hybrid console, capable of being used in both portable and docked mode
• The new console will launch with an LCD screen, as opposed to a more vibrant OLED screen
  • It’s suggested this is a decision made to bring down costs, ‘especially considering the increased storage needed for higher fidelity games’
• The new console will continue to accept physical games via a cartridge slot

Factors that VGC’s sources are still unclear on include the console’s capabilities for backward compatibility with existing Nintendo Switch games, though the publication notes that Nintendo has previously said it wants to convert as much of its existing user base as possible.

Read: Best Nintendo Switch games of 2023 (so far)

The Nintendo Switch first launched in early 2017, and while the console has seen a number of remodels – including the portability-focussed Nintendo Switch Lite, and the display-focussed Nintendo Switch OLED – its internal hardware has not seen an upgrade during this time.

That’s been a point of contention for third-party developers and enthusiastic players, who have desire to see its capabilities match its high-powered rivals in the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Developers who release games on multiple platforms have often cited the Nintendo Switch as a bottleneck, requiring extra work to make technically ambitious games run smoothly.

Regardless, the Nintendo Switch remains a great success for the company, selling over 120 million units worldwide as of February 2023, with the number inching closer to 150 million as year continued, despite a slowdown in sales. It remains the second-highest-selling Nintendo console in history, behind the Nintendo DS (154 million units sold), with several high-profile games slated for the end of 2023.

That slowdown is likely one of the big factors in Nintendo‘s timing for the Switch successor. As VGC also noted, the timing would continue with Nintendo‘s trend of releasing its hardware ‘mid-cycle’, that is, a few years after Sony and Microsoft.

VGC is confident in the information from its multiple sources, though it’s worth reaffirming that these details are yet to be officially confirmed from Nintendo.