After a 60 minute Nintendo Direct packed with details on the Nintendo Switch 2 and a host of the games coming to the system, we now know the launch lineup for the hybrid console sequel, coming alongside the console’s release on 5th June 2025.
There’s two first party games (kind of) that will be launch titles, with the most important of these by far being Mario Kart World – the Welcome Tour game should surely be a pack-in, like Astro Bot was? The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to be well-supported by third party developers and publishers, though, with a mixture of new and recent game releases, and some upgraded Switch 2 Edition titles.
Here’s the full list of Switch 2 launch titles:
- Mario Kart World
- Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
- Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer
- Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
- Civilization 7 – Switch 2 Edition upgrade available
- Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition
- Deltarune – Chapters 1-4
- Fast Fusion
- Fortnite
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
- Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
- Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
- Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
- Split Fiction
- Survival Kids
- Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut
There’s also the addition of GameCube games to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive set of emulated games. These will also be available from day one for Switch 2 with three initial games:
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- Soul Calibur II
- F-Zero GX
We could also describe these titles as “launch window” games, confirmed for the first couple months after the Switch 2’s release:
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV – Switch 2 Edition upgrade
Of course, the Switch 2 is also almost completely backward compatible to the full Nintendo Switch library. A select few games will be getting the Switch 2 Edition upgrades, but outside of that, the most likely improvements will be for steadying game frame rates and dynamic resolutions using the increased hardware power of the Switch 2.
tactical20
Nowhere near enough to fork out £400 at release imo. I’ll pick one up in 2026. And yeah, having to pay for Welcome Tour is stupid beyond belief.
Also, who is gonna buy Kirby Air Ride when you can just play Mario Kart World instead?
Stefan L
Yeah, I can imagine a lot of people sticking with Switch 1 for the time being. It’s a similar story, I feel, to the muddle of cross-gen and game upgrades from PS4 to PS5, but having Mario Kart World be exclusive is pretty big. I’ve no doubt there’s a couple surprises coming later in the year as well.
And Kirby isn’t coming out until 2026, so there should be a good bit of space between them.Oh, Kirby is meant to be this year.