Based on multiple recent reports, it’s looking like the Nintendo Switch’s active lifecycle is about to come to an end. Leaks have claimed that a next-gen Nintendo console is very much in the works, and targeting a launch sometime in the second half of 2024. However, Nintendo itself has said that it’s still got things in the works for the Switch itself for fiscal year 2024/25, which ends on March 31, 2025.
In a recent interview with Nikkei, when asked about Nintendo’s long-term Switch plans, president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company is still working on new game releases for the console that will release in the next fiscal year, and that it intends to continue maximizing demand for the hardware.
“We are still working on software for the Switch for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025,” he said (via VGC). “In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, we hope to sustain the momentum of Zelda and the [Super Mario Bros] movie, with focus on the holiday sales season. As for hardware, we will maximize not only new demand for the hardware, but also for those buying second consoles and replacements.”
Of course, if the next Nintendo console does indeed launch sometime in 2024, it wouldn’t necessarily preclude Nintendo from supporting the Switch a little longer, with the company likely planning some sort of a cross-gen support period. How long that period will last should be interesting to see though, especially given the Switch’s ageing hardware.
Currently, Nintendo has two upcoming releases announced for the Switch for the next fiscal year, with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.