In a discussion with Japanese publication Nikkei, translated by VGC (Video Games Chronicle), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated Nintendo is “still working on software for the Switch for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.”
By March 2025, the Switch will have celebrated its eighth birthday since its launch on March 7, 2017. Current Switch owners can expect more games coming their way, with the release dates for Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Old Door HD, Mario vs. Donkey Kong Remake and Princess Peach: Showtime! around the corner in early 2024. Nintendo is also working on numerous other Switch games, including the new Detective Pikachu Returns and a remake of Super Mario RPG. Nintendo recently released DLC for the latest two entries in the Pokémon franchise: Scarlet & Violet.
Although Furukawa says the Switch will continue to receive new software till 2025, it is possible that the Switch’s successor might come sooner. Just last month, reports claimed the successor was privately revealed to developers during Gamescom 2023. Eurogamer alleged that the successor showcased an upscaled version of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to impressive capabilities. VGC also alleged that this supposed successor uses Nvidia’s DLSS (deep learning super sampling), which allows weaker systems to improve graphics, frame rates and resolution. Of course, it is likely the successor will not be able to recreate the hyper-realistic graphics seen on the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but it still would be an improvement to the Switch.
As the system reaches the end of its lifespan, sales have declined. Last fiscal year, the Switch sold 18 million units, a harsh decline from the 28 million units sold only two years prior. Still, Furukawa remains hopeful that the holiday season will see an increase in sales. “Sustaining the Switch’s sales momentum will be difficult in its seventh year,” Furukawa stated, “Our goal of selling 15 million units this fiscal year is a bit of a stretch, but we will do our best to bolster demand going into the holiday season so that we can achieve the goal.”Furukawa also stated that for now, Nintendo is very focused on maintaining the excitement for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that released in May, and the Super Mario Bros. Movie released in March. This plan will remain in place until the end of the current fiscal year on March 31, 2024. There is yet to be an official announcement regarding the Switch successor.