Anticipation for the Nintendo Switch‘s successor shows no sign of slowing down, with new rumors and leaks emerging around-the-clock. While concrete facts are hard to come by, one piece of news about the current Switch provides ample fodder for fan speculation.
During an earnings call from earlier in November, Nintendo confirmed some info on the Switch 2. Most notably was a statement in the call from company president Shuntaro Furukawa, who confirmed that Nintendo plans to announce the console by the end of the current fiscal year. This gives Nintendo the cut-off date of March 2025, meaning an announcement is likely just around the corner. In the meantime, word of the Switch shop’s impending shutdown in China seems like a sign of movement.
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Nintendo Shutting Down Switch Online In China Implies A Lot About What Might Be Happening With The Switch 2
Nintendo’s Chinese partner Tencent, responsible for distributing the Switch in China, just announced that Switch Online support would be ending in China by early 2026. In this statement, it was confirmed that the Switch’s Chinese eShop would be winding down March 31, 2026, and that Switch Online will be fully obsolete by May 15 of that year.
China has an absolutely massive video game market, one that the Switch allowed Nintendo some leadership in for a time. This closure announcement will affect millions upon millions of players, and there will be more than a little fallout for Nintendo if a replacement console isn’t on shelves in time. This situation suggests, to some extent, that the Switch 2 will arrive swiftly to meet the ensuing demand. Moreover, it can be supposed that the Switch 2 will arrive before this shutdown of Switch Online services—as has been the trend for successor consoles. Even if this is the case, though, it would still be something of a rapid post-release closure, and perhaps even a sign of how long the market has awaited a new Nintendo console.
What Service Shutdown Can Imply To Fans About The Switch 2
It’s not typical for Nintendo to retire certain services before the release of a new console. For instance, the Wii U and 3DS eShops weren’t closed until after the Switch was released and established. With this in mind, it’s worth looking at the announcement-to-release pattern of previous Nintendo consoles, considering both the Chinese shutdown and the March 2025 announcement cut-off date.
The Switch was released less than a year after its reveal, but it was something of a special case, considering how Nintendo needed a quick replacement for the Wii U. On the other hand, the Wii and the Wii U, both released under more typical circumstances, were released just over a year after their announcement. Given that Nintendo likely wants to get the Switch 2 out the door soon, it could be argued that the gap will fall somewhere between the Switch and the Wii/Wii U (though that is pure speculation). Assuming an announcement at the late end of March 2025, a March 2026 release date wouldn’t be surprising—and would line up with the beginning of the Chinese shutdown.
It is worth noting, however, that the shutdown of Nintendo Switch Online services will vary by region, and similar announcements have yet to hit other parts of the globe. While it seems unlikely that Nintendo would wrap up service for a region with such a vast audience before a new console, it should be noted that there’s a level of distinction with Tencent carrying out this shutdown; it’s possible that different stipulations are at play. On the other hand, features like the Twitch app have already been discontinued on the Switch across the globe, so it’s not like things haven’t already been set in motion for a release that comes sooner rather than later.
Nintendo Switch
- Brand
- Nintendo
- Weight
- .88 lbs
- Storage
- 32 GB
- Display
- 6.2-inch LCD Screen / 1280 x 720
- Battery
- Approximately 4.5 – 9 hours