Report: Nintendo is introducing external developers to Switch 2

Nintendo introduced a number of external developers to its inevitable Switch successor during a specially prepared showcase at Gamescom 2023.

That's according to a report from Eurogamer, corroborated by VGC, which claims devs were treated to a demonstration featuring an improved version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, which debuted in 2021 to show what the future might look like on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Breath of the Wild, specifically, was reportedly running at a higher framerate and resolution than the original Switch release. The Unreal Engine 5 demo, meanwhile, apparently leveraged Nvidia DLSS upscaling technology and advanced raytracing.

The Nintendo Switch 2?

The notion of Nintendo working on a next-generation Switch almost seven years after the original debuted isn't exactly surprising. Still, it's fascinating to hear the company has started courting external developers with a view to selling them on its potential.

A separate report from VGC published in July indicated the Switch 2 is slated for release in the second half of 2024, and suggested it will be another hybrid device that can be used as both a home console and handheld.

Nintendo has yet to confirm any of these reports. The original Switch, however, has sold almost 130 million units to-date, and it seems hard to believe Nintendo will abandon the brand that reinvigorated its hardware business after the disappointing performance of the Wii U.