Soon it will be 2025, also known as the year Nintendo finally pulls back the curtain on its next console. After 2024 was filled with shaky rumors, alleged leaks, and nonstop speculation about the Nintendo Switch successor, we know for a fact Nintendo will share more about the next generation in less than 100 days. If that’s not exciting enough for you, the Nintendo Switch still has a few cards up its sleeve and 2025 will finally see the launch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, eight years after its initial announcement. And, as always, there will surely be some surprises along the way, with some possibly tied to a certain plumber’s 40th anniversary. Here’s what to expect from Nintendo in 2025.
Nintendo in 2025: What’s Already On the Books
Before we get into Switch 2, let’s recap what we already know is coming to Switch in 2025. Nintendo has been incredibly consistent at publishing a Switch game most months for the last two years, and while I’m not sure they’ll keep up that pace to the same degree in 2025, we already know about a fair number of games coming in the next few months.
January 16 marks the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, a remaster of the 2010 Wii platformer that includes the extra levels from the 2013 3DS port. That’s right, this is the third time Nintendo is selling us Country Returns and it’s now been more than a decade since the last original Donkey Kong Country game with Tropical Freeze’s launch on Wii U. Hopefully Donkey Kong’s recent inclusion in Nintendo’s movies and theme parks will eventually result in a brand new video game, but for now you’re getting Country Returns again, and you better like it. As someone who’s bought and played both previous versions, it really is a fantastic platformer and one worth trying if you’ve never played it before.
We’re getting another HD remaster on March 20, but this one is much more exciting. After years of fan demand, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is finally landing on Switch, meaning the entire Xenoblade Chronicles series will be available in one place. Xenoblade Chronicles X is the odd one out in the series: It’s not directly tied to the trilogy and it was doomed to originally release on Wii U back in 2015, so this second chance at life will be many players’ first chance to dive into this enormous open world RPG. The visually enhanced Definitive Edition also adds brand new story content longtime fans will surely dissect and theorize about for years to come.
Right now, those are the only firm release dates we have for Nintendo in 2025, but there are a few huge games coming sometime in the coming months. That includes Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Game Freak’s return to the Legends subseries after Arceus successfully shook things up back in 2022. We still know very little about what Legends: Z-A will entail, other than it centers around an “urban redevelopment plan” in the Kalos Region’s Lumiose City from Pokémon X & Y, and that Generation VI’s Mega Evolution is set to return in some way. Pokémon took a much needed year off in 2024 so it’s exciting to see what Legends: Z-A will look like after taking a bit more time in the oven.
One big third-party Nintendo Switch exclusive worth shouting out is Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, which is scheduled for release sometime in 2025. It’s the big return of Professor Layton and his assistant Luke after more than a decade out of the spotlight. I’m hopeful it will actually make it out on time – Level-5 has been a bit too eager to announce release windows before games are actually ready, but whenever this finally comes out it will be an exciting return for a series that’s always been heavily associated with Nintendo.
The final TBA 2025 game on Nintendo’s calendar right now is the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. First announced at E3 2017, Prime 4 was MIA for years before its re-reveal at June’s Nintendo Direct. Prime 4 is coming from Retro Studios, developers of the original Metroid Prime trilogy, and it features the return of Sylux, a villain first introduced in the Nintendo DS spinoff Metroid Prime Hunters. The most recent trailer is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to see how the full adventure shapes up later this year.
We’ll Know More About Switch 2 in Less Than Three Months
Enough messing around, let’s get into what you’re all here for: the Nintendo Switch successor. Last May, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa revealed that Nintendo would make an announcement about the Nintendo Switch successor “within this fiscal year.” Nintendo’s fiscal year ends on March 31, meaning that we’re expecting an official unveiling sometime within the next 90 days or so. Other than Nintendo’s recent confirmation that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the Switch 2, the company has been very quiet about what the console will actually be like.
However, March might not be the end of the story. It’s possible we will get a quick teaser trailer before the end of this fiscal year, similar to the Switch’s reveal trailer in October 2016, followed by a full presentation ahead of the official launch. Or Nintendo might tell us everything we want to know right away, which is the best-case scenario. Either way, I’m confident we’ll get a big presentation at some point this year with all the answers we’re looking for.
Last time Nintendo held a big in-person event in Japan to properly unveil the Switch, which was broadcast live around the world. I’m expecting a slightly different strategy this time as I think Nintendo will stick to its prerecorded Nintendo Direct-style presentation to show the successor off. But I think the information presented will be largely the same, where Nintendo will likely share information on the following:
- Name
- Release Date
- Price
- Launch day/window game lineup
- Specifications
- Unique features
As for what these console details will actually be, your guess is as good as mine. But I can almost guarantee the Switch successor will launch before the end of 2025 as I don’t see a world where Nintendo announces it as early as March and waits until 2026 to release it. And I’m personally expecting the Switch successor to be very iterative of Nintendo Switch, maintaining the hybrid design that made it such a global success.
A new console means new games and Nintendo is definitely cooking up a big lineup for the next console’s first year. Not counting projects it was a co-developer on, Nintendo’s internal development teams only put out one game last year: Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC. It’s clearly been full steam ahead on Switch 2 games for a while and I’m expecting some heavy hitters at launch and in the first year of Switch 2.
We are well overdue for a new 3D Mario because it’s been nearly eight years since Super Mario Odyssey. That was the last brand new 3D Mario apart from Bowser’s Fury, which was a bite-sized expansion added onto 3D World’s Switch release in 2021. I’m confident Nintendo is setting up the next 3D Mario to be the Switch successor’s must-have game at launch, to get all of the hardcore Nintendo fans snap up the new console right away. And it just so happens that 2025 is the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and given how big Nintendo went for the 35th anniversary in 2020, I think it’s a safe bet that Mario will be front and center at the next console launch.
But what about Mario Kart? We’re even more overdue for a brand new Mario Kart entry given that it’s been 11 years now since Mario Kart 8’s original release. Yes, we got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Tour, and the Booster Course Pass in the time since, but it’s still been way too long since a wholly original home console Mario Kart. I go back and forth between thinking 3D Mario or Mario Kart is the big launch game, but either way I think we get both before the console’s first holiday season. Right now, I’m feeling a 3D Mario at launch as the big single-player showcase game, with Mario Kart coming just a bit later to get families interested in picking the console up over the holidays.
As much as everyone loves Mario though, Nintendo will want to diversify its launch lineup beyond its most iconic character. I could see some sort of Zelda remake or remaster in the cards to get that franchise represented as soon as possible on the next hardware, with the two most likely candidates feeling like an Ocarina of Time HD remake or a Breath of the Wild remaster that runs at a solid 60 fps.
I think it’s a safe bet that Mario will be front and center at the next console launch. I’m also expecting Nintendo to unveil some sort of brand new IP to hit the console at launch or shortly after. The Wii had Wii Sports, Wii U had Nintendoland, and Switch had 1-2-Switch, so there will likely be some sort of casual, family-friendly experience to show off what the new hardware can do.
I’m also hopeful we might get a glimpse of Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai’s new mystery game at some point in 2025. Sakurai dropped one of the biggest plot twists of 2024 when he revealed that he prepped his entire YouTube channel in advance and has been secretly working on a new video game since early 2022. It’s been in development for three years now so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a reveal is planned for sometime this year. It’s most likely the next Smash Bros., but I would love to see Sakurai’s take on a more niche Nintendo series like Star Fox or F-Zero.
Speaking of F-Zero, I wouldn’t be surprised if Switch 2 is home to a remaster of F-Zero GX or an entirely new game in the series. Nintendo has been building up hype for the F-Zero series for the last year now, first with the release and continued updates in F-Zero 99, followed by the addition of nearly every game in the series to the Nintendo Switch Online game catalog. I feel like it’s accelerating toward something big for the series and there’s almost no better way to show off new, powerful hardware than a gorgeous, futuristic racing game running at a perfect framerate.
Switch 1 Support Will Continue
All eyes will definitely be on Switch 2 in 2025 but Nintendo will continue to support its 140 million-plus Switch 1 install base with new games. We already discussed the Switch games we know are coming in 2025 but there will certainly be more reveals as the year goes on. I’m expecting Kirby to show up on Switch 1 in some way – it’s been two years since Return to Dreamland Deluxe – either through a remaster of a fan favorite like Kirby Planet Robobot or an entirely new game. I also think it could be time for Nintendo to wheel out some of its smaller series and I’ve got a feeling in my bad knee that Rhythm Heaven could finally make its Switch debut this year in a similar fashion to Rhythm Heaven Megamix showing up on 3DS after the Switch was already out.
Could Next Level Games Show Up?
Luigi’s Mansion 3 developers Next Level Games have put out a new game every three years since 2013. The studio’s last full game was Mario Strikers: Battle League in 2022, meaning 2025 is the year for its next project if this development cycle pattern is to continue. It could be time for Luigi’s Mansion 4 on the Switch successor but given how much Mario I already think is in the cards for 2025, I could also see this game getting unveiled at some point for a release sometime in 2026. While I definitely think some studios will continue developing games for the older Switch hardware, I firmly expect to see Next Level Games’ new project on the next console and wouldn’t be shocked if we get a glimpse of it in 2025.
Nintendo’s Entertainment Endeavors Continue
Finally, Nintendo is much more than a video game company at this point and it has some solid entertainment plans lined up for 2025. Super Nintendo World is set to open in Florida this May and it includes the Donkey Kong Country expansion that’s currently exclusive to Universal Studios Japan. And Nintendo is opening its second stateside retail store when Nintendo San Francisco opens at Union Square sometime this year. scheduled to hit theaters in April 2026 so I’m guessing we’ll get the first trailer for the sequel sometime before the year is up too.
And that’s everything we expect from Nintendo in 2025. Are you ready for the Switch 2 or are you still excited about the Switch 1 games we know about? Let us know in the comments. And for everything else Nintendo, switch with IGN.
