SmashWiki:April Fools'/Nintendo Switch 2 hoax

The Nintendo Switch 2 hoax is a currently active hoax being propagated by Nintendo about the existence of a fictional console called "Nintendo Switch 2".

Background

Rumours of a new version of the Nintendo Switch console have circulated since as early as 2019, but serious credibility was not assigned until shareholder meetings in 2023. On May 7, 2024, Nintendo officially acknowledged the existence of a "successor" to the Switch, and on January 16, 2025, a short teaser for the console's appearance was released.

In addition to official news channels, a great deal of rumoured and leaked information became available over time, such as supposed specs and planned release dates.

Hoax

In actuality, the "Switch 2" does not exist. The entire venture is nothing but a complex honeypot mechanism, intended to locate corporate espionage, leakers, and other undesirables. But while some parts are complete fabrications, other parts are true for different reasons.

• The design elements of the "Switch 2" (e.g. larger size, different Joy-Con snapping mechanism, etc.) are to be used for an improved Switch model, currently code-named the "Switch Again". All devkits said to have been sent out are for this model, as are the various claims of existing games featuring "Switch 2"-exclusive features.
• The supposed August 2023 private tech demos at gamescom were instead for Nintendo Alarmo, Nintendo Music, and Nintendo Today!. The Nintendo employee entrusted to carry the briefcase full of feedback stepped on an Irrwurz and took almost a year to be recovered, hence the delay in releasing such products.
• The May 2024 announcement of a Switch successor was a mistranslation. The intended meaning was something akin to "if 2024 was success, 2025 will be even more success-er".
• The various hardware leaks in 2024-2025 were partly for the "Switch Again" (see above), but mostly for tracking down who was leaking things. A total of five companies have (anonymously) gone on record to say that Nintendo dropped their contracts due to the NDA-breaking actions of a "Bob" (somehow it's always a Bob).
• The reveal teaser animation was simply an unpaid intern messing about with Blender. A passing middle manager not privy to the hoax believed it was real and spread it too far too quickly to be contained. Those responsible have been sacked. Then, just to be safe, those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.
• The footage of a new Mario Kart game was real. "Mario Kart 16" will release on the Switch in summer 2026.
• The announced Switch 2 Direct for April 2 2025 will never air. Speculation suggests that Nintendo will simply pretend they never made such an announcement.
• The "2" on the Seattle Mariners advertising patches does not represent the "Switch 2", but this being the second of the two patches Nintendo has used to make the shirts ugly. The number will increment every time a player is hit by a pitch on the patch.

Quotations

Several anonymous sources have gone on record as to the veracity of "Switch 2" being a hoax. Unfortunately, Nintendo has thus far done a very clean job of having such sources removed from existence, and only secondary sources remain. To reduce detection risk, some parts have been elided and synonymised.

Yeah, [it] isn't real. [They] think they're doing a [bang-up] job hiding it, but it's all smoke and mirrors. – anonymous Ylissean

I almost got my [digits] cut off for saying the wrong thing in a meeting. Figuratively. [They]'re real big serious about keeping it [mum]. – anonymous elephant

Yeah, I make problems disappear. An' people who think [it] isn't real, they're a problem. – anonymous Goomba

Of course Switch 2 real! Monopon never lie to customers, not even for twenty Sour Gooseberries and five Massive Mushroom Pies and extra week off! Meh! – anonymous Nopon

Why y'all askin' me dese ballyhoo-in questions 'bout tek-know-low-jeez that ain't in my fuzzy mittens? Nothin' exists 'till the King gots one, and [that] ain't special enuff to break da rules! – anonymous king

Pika! Pika pika chuuchuu [pika] pikachu pipipi kachu! – anonymous Pokémon