How time flies. It’s been a whole year since Nintendo released its latest console, and it’s been anything but uneventful. To say that it has been a turbulent period of time to launch new gaming hardware in would be an understatement, but that hasn’t stopped the Nintendo Switch 2 from having the highest first-year sales of any console ever. On this occasion, we decided it might be fun to take a look back on the first year of the Nintendo Switch 2 and review some of the highlights. Grab a party hat and a piece of cake at the door, because we’re doing that anniversary thing.
The Launch
There’s always a certain level of excitement involved in a new console launch, especially when it’s following up a very well-loved predecessor like the Nintendo Switch. While there were (and still are) a lot of concerns from people about the price of the console and its games, the Nintendo Switch 2, by all accounts, had an absolutely huge launch. A huge part of that is likely owed to Nintendo’s decision to launch the latest Mario Kart game alongside the console, even offering it as a pack-in bundle. The first fully new console entry in the series in over a decade, Mario Kart World changed things up by connecting all of its courses on a single huge map. While it will likely never reach the sales numbers of the incredibly successful Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it is by leaps and bounds the Switch 2’s most popular game.
The rest of the launch line-up was no slouch either, though it contained a few controversial releases. Nintendo’s choice to sell its guide-like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour rubbed many people the wrong way, and several publishers opted for the controversial Game Key Card option for their physical releases. There was plenty to love in that first volley of games, however. CD Projekt Red’s remarkable port of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition not only offered a great version of the game, but also managed to fit the whole thing on a physical cartridge. Other highlights include Street Fighter 6, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, Hitman: World of Assassination, Split Fiction, FAST Fusion, and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster.
Then there were the Switch 2 Editions. Some Switch games received these upgrades, some only available via the eShop, while others were given new physical releases. In some cases, the upgrades were merely technical, while others added entirely new content. Some of the best upgrades at launch included No Man’s Sky, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Several first-party Nintendo games also got special updates that made them play a lot better on the Switch 2. All in all, there were a lot of games to choose from at the Switch 2 launch. If you didn’t own the original Switch, it was a veritable treasure trove. If you did? Some fully new games, and some old games running better than ever.
The First Summer
On Nintendo’s end, its main post-launch summer release was the incredible Donkey Kong Bananza. It put Donkey Kong in the driver’s seat of a 3D platforming adventure for the first time since Donkey Kong 64, and caused serious psychic damage to anyone who cares about Mario canon. Beyond that, Nintendo also released substantial Switch 2 Edition paid updates for Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The latter in particular was quite well-received. Finally, there was Drag x Drive, an interesting attempt to show off the Switch 2’s mouse controls that ended up feeling like little more than a tech demo.
On the third-party side, Atlus brought Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army to the Switch 2 shortly after launch. Sports fans ate quite well during the summer months. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 made a much better showing on the new console than 1 + 2 had on the original, WWE 2K25 gave the pro wrestling marks something to grapple with, and Madden NFL 26 saw the long-running franchise return to Nintendo consoles for the first time since Madden NFL 13 on the Wii U. Throw in a few Switch 2 Editions like Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar and Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven and you had plenty to juggle during summer vacation.
A Rising Fall
September through November are generally the busiest months of the year for game releases, and with this being the first holiday season for the Switch 2, it was even more important than usual. With this in mind, Nintendo decided its big holiday first-party exclusive would be Kirby Air Riders, a follow-up to the 2003 GameCube title Kirby Air Ride. Look, when Masahiro Sakurai says he wants to do something, you generally let him do it. A cross-platform Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, likely helped boost Nintendo’s confidence for the season. Nintendo and Koei Tecmo also partnered up to release the latest Hyrule Warriors game, Age of Imprisonment. All three games were received relatively well, though some felt that the Switch 2 was missing a truly big holiday release.
Third parties kept on doing their thing, at least. Ubisoft brought an incredible port of Star Wars Outlaws to the console, and it seems to have done as well on Switch 2 as it did anywhere. I guess we won’t be seeing a sequel. Hollow Knight: Silksong was an immediate smash hit, and Hades II came in not long after. EA Sports FC 26 and NBA 2K26 kept the sports train rolling, and RPG fans had a bunch of good stuff to choose from, such as Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, and Persona 3 Reload. Connecting both sports and RPG was Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, which brought the once-popular series back from the dead. SEGA ported a couple more Yakuza games, and Bandai Namco made sure popular anime and manga IPs got their Switch 2 dessert.
The Big Chill
Typically, by December, most of the big releases for the year on a console have already been released. The Switch 2 actually had a ton of stuff in that month, with the extremely long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hitting both Switch and Switch 2. It… it sure was a game. Well, at least it made it out. The other big original, sort of, was Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler 0. It’s a good one! Ubisoft did a solid port of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Rockstar moseyed on in with a Switch 2 Edition of Red Dead Redemption, SEGA aimed for kart-racing glory with Sonic Racing: Crossworlds’ Switch 2 Edition, and Divinity: Original Sin II got a very nice Switch 2 upgrade of its own. Not every release went smoothly, though. Both The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition and Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader came in pretty hot on Switch 2 and have seen a handful of updates since.
In January, Nintendo opted to hang its first-party hat on a fairly substantial Switch 2 Edition for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It coincided with a big update for the game on both platforms, giving players a reason to head back to their islands and squash some roaches. On the third-party side, Koei Tecmo offered up an astounding version of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, still one of the best ports on the platform in this writer’s opinion. Square Enix brought Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade to Switch 2 and did a decent enough job of it, while Nihon Falcom had the latest Trails game, Beyond the Horizon, ready to go.
Curiously, February was the busiest month of the three in all regards. Nintendo had both Mario Tennis Fever and a (rather poor) Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on tap. Square Enix made sure the console had its own version of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined on day one, and SEGA did the same for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. Bethesda brought Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition to Switch 2, and it thankfully fared better than Skyrim did. The real superstar this month was Capcom, who not only made sure Resident Evil Requiem released day and date on Switch 2 but also brought out ports of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village on the very same day.
Spring Showers
Things just kept on rolling into March and the console’s first spring. Pokémon Pokopia was a game no one saw coming, and it’s another amazing first-party exclusive on the console. Another game that has turned out better than most were expecting is Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which finally shakes up the Yoshi formula to create something more than just another take on Yoshi’s Island. Aside from that, Super Mario Wonder got a Switch 2 Edition facelift in time for Mario’s new movie. After a few low-key months, these titles showed that Nintendo and its development partners still had a zing in their step.
Over on the third-party end of things, the pattern continued. Lots of neat ports and Switch 2 Editions, plus some ambitious multiplatform releases. Monster Hunter Stories 3, Pragmata, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, Mixtape, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Tales of Arise, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Mina the Hollower, Blue Prince, and WWE 2K26 show that at least for the time being, publishers are willing to put in the effort to bring their big games to the platform if it’s at all possible.
Probably just as big a story as any game release in the last few months, however, was the news that the console’s price would be increasing in September of this year. With many feeling the system’s price was already a bit dear, it was likely not the news they wanted to hear. Such is the state of things at the moment, it seems. Still, it’s not like Nintendo is alone in doing that. It’s a tough time for our hobby in many ways, and one can only hope it can weather the storm until clearer skies return. That’s a bit of a downer note to end this look back on, but at the very least, it appears that the Switch 2 isn’t letting circumstances get the best of it.
I’m still waiting for all those GameCube Classics that were promised for the first year, though!
