Compared to the other consoles on the market at the time, including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Switch used less powerful computational hardware to keep the unit's price low, but sufficient to power the type of games Nintendo typically publishes; part of the company's long-term blue ocean strategy to differentiate themselves from the other console manufacturers.

[12][13] On May 7, 2024, Furukawa officially acknowledged the development of the Switch's successor, stating that more information would be revealed later that fiscal year.

[17][18][19] Nintendo will host a series of worldwide events from April through June 2025 to allow players to try out the console before release.

[21] The console was initially expected to launch in late 2024; however, in February, Bloomberg News reported that Nintendo had informed publishers it was delaying the release into early 2025.

[24] Game publisher and accessory maker Nacon anticipated that the console would be released within the first half of Nintendo's fiscal year beginning in April, and ending September 30, 2025.

Among them included references to the tenth generation titles in the franchise, and that they were targeting a release on the Nintendo Switch's successor, codenamed internally as "Ounce".

[33] A user on Famiboards then calculated, based on the physical dimensions, that the system on a chip was likely produced using a 5 nm process node.

While such a process poses difficulties for performance and battery life, Leadbetter believes these can be relieved due to the nature of fixed hardware platforms, which allow for custom optimizations to be implemented.

[36] Patents filed in February 2025 suggest the Switch 2 can be flipped 180 degrees, allowing for a change in the position of the headphone jack and the USB-C ports.

[48] Pokémon series developer Game Freak was targeted in a data breach by an unspecified third-party ransomware group in October 2024.

[49][50] The console's reveal trailer in January 2025 was accompanied by early footage of an as-yet untitled Mario Kart game.

[54] In May 2024, Nintendo announced their intentions to acquire Miami-based developer Shiver Entertainment from their prior parent company Embracer Group, with the company detailing in a statement that the merger enabled them to procure specialized in-house resources for the development and porting of software, while allowing the studio to continue their commitments to Nintendo Switch and other platforms.

[60][61][62] Microsoft had previously signed an agreement with Nintendo to bring future entries in the Call of Duty franchise to their platforms as part of their acquisition bid for Activision Blizzard, which became legally binding in February 2023.