Nintendo Switch 2 release date is March or April 2025 says accessory company

As rumours around Nintendo’s next console continue to pile up, the CEO of a video game accessories manufacturer has claimed the Switch 2 is ‘ready’.

Nintendo rumours have powered into overdrive over recent weeks, with word from insiders and leaked images, pointing to a reveal for the Switch’s successor at some point next month.

At this point, the only fact we know is that Nintendo will debut its next console before April 2025. While this implies the follow-up to the Switch would launch sometime after this date, a new report claims the console is being primed to launch in the early 2025 window.

This comes from Ruben Mercado, CEO of video game accessories and peripherals company Blade, which is said to be manufacturing accessories for the console.

During an appearance on a podcast for Spanish website Vandal, Mercado claims Nintendo’s next console is ‘done’ and ‘ready’, and that his company Blade has access to near final versions of the hardware.

Mercado states that the console, dubbed the Switch 2 by fans, will launch in either March or April next year. He speculates that the release date will depend on Nintendo’s financials for the current fiscal year, believing it could launch in March if sales are below expectations, or at the start of the new financial year in April if the figures are solid.

Needless to say, Nintendo are not going to be happy when they hear him talking like this, given he appears to know exactly what he’s talking about.

If true, this actually makes some sense considering Nintendo is pushing out various bundles for the original Switch this Christmas, supported by the fairly strong line-up of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

Princess Zelda gets a new item in Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom — Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom is making history for Nintendo (Nintendo)

Elsewhere, Mercado commented on some of the prior leaks. The Blade CEO states the Joy-Con controllers are magnetic and have a ‘locking system’ so they remain attached to the console. He also claims the Joy-Con’s analogue sticks are different on the next console, as they aren’t compatible with Blade’s prior analogue stick covers.

Mercado further states that Nintendo is planning a simultaneous worldwide launch for the console, which would match the release plan of the original Switch in March 2017.

While any rumours around Nintendo’s next generation plans should be taken with some hesitation, the CEO of a gaming peripherals company is certainly a more reliable source than the average Redditor.

This comes after further evidence emerged recently that the console will be backwards compatible. As detailed by Famiiboards user Pokemaniac, a recent Switch firmware update added support for a new way of exposing [sic] files to games, classified as ‘compat’, which seems to be intended for higher quality assets for the new console.

Nintendo has already hinted that the next console will be backwards compatible, which has been supported by several other unconfirmed rumours.

No details about the console have been officially announced though, so we’ll just have to wait and see whether Nintendo does show the machine before the end of the year, with some sources hinting at an early October unveiling.