Issue #77: The Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Guide — May/June 2025

Our spotlight is officially shifting!

We know the Switch 1’s not done, and we’ll continue our coverage of its continued life throughout the overlap years that lie ahead. But with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 coming up on June 5, it’s time to fix our focus on the future! So welcome to the first official NF issue of the all-new Switch 2 generation. This is our Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Guide!

Inside this issue, our normally separate Features and Previews sections have been merged into one supersized Launch Guide: Across nearly 30 pages, we’ve prepared first looks at nearly every launch title that will be going on sale alongside the system itself this June, as well as several heavy hitters that will keep its momentum rolling throughout the rest of 2025, and even into next year.

It’s a mix of familiar first-party franchises like Mario Kart and The Legend of Zelda with some brand-new creations from the Big N’s best and brightest, like Drag x Drive and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour — as well as some major brands from third-party publishers that we haven’t seen show up on the Nintendo side of the industry too often in recent years. (Welcome back, Street Fighter and Final Fantasy!) Even indie devs are in the mix from the start, highlighted by big names like Deltarune and the highly anticipated Witchbrook.

Switch 2 launch coverage continues even beyond the bounds of the Launch Guide, too, with News taking a look at the price controversy that popped up immediately following Nintendo’s big April 2 Direct event, and our attempt to make sense of the various different varieties of Game Cards that we’re all about to be presented with. The Download section gets in on the action with a look at the GameCube classics that are being added to Nintendo’s Switch Online subscription service (but exclusively for play on Switch 2), and over in Community we’re presenting an in-person event report on the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience, an invite-only preview party that only a select few were chosen to attend. Our thanks to Andrew Wolf from Deku Deals and Nintendeal for sharing his story with us there!

What an honor it is for us to be here to bear witness to this latest generation transition! Our first issue was published right after the Wii U launch. We followed Nintendo through that era, then arrived at the Switch debut eight years ago. And we got to cover that whole chapter too! Now we’re moving on to the Switch 2. The Nintendo Force is hyped and ready to jump into this new reality and see it through, too! Join us for the entire ride, won’t you?

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Print subscribers, your physical copies are in production now and will be shipped to you before the end of this week. Most should arrive in mailboxes by the early days of May. I know our last couple of issues preceding this one fell behind due to various weather and production delays, but we're out of the winter months now and (as far as I know) all of our printing company's equipment is back at 100%, and we really pushed to get back onto our regular production schedule with this one. So you all should see your issues arrive much sooner than the previous two did.

Also, two double-sided posters will be packed alongside print copies of this issue! I noted that we skipped doing a poster with Issue #76 intentionally, because I wanted to hold off and have this issue be a double-poster special. We'll go back to the regular rhythm of one double-sided poster per issue after this, though.

Digital patrons, keep an eye on your inbox this Wednesday, April 23. That's when I'll send the download links to grab the PDF version of this issue. It'll give you something to read in the final frantic hours before Switch 2 preorders go live in America at midnight, a few hours later!

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Thanks for being here and being part of the Nintendo Force team at the onset of the new Switch 2 generation! Let's have a blast covering this entire console life cycle through the years ahead, shall we?

~ Lucas M. Thomas