Nintendo has had some extremely successful consoles in its time, but the Nintendo Switch manages to stand out from the crowd. In the last few years, the Switch has managed to outsell tons of Nintendo consoles, including the highly popular Wii, which moved nearly 100 million units. Switch sales have yet to slow down, either, and the momentum will likely be preserved as Nintendo continues to release compelling new Switch titles. Still, fans are just as interested in Nintendo's future as they are in the present. Nintendo has yet to officially reveal any successor console for the Switch, but discussions about a possible Switch Pro continue to swirl.
Rumors about a new console definitely aren't quite as frequent as they were before the Switch OLED released, but they haven't disappeared entirely. Instead, ideas about a Switch Pro have simply changed as Nintendo explains its intentions for the Switch and new leaks provide potential insight on the Nintendo Switch Pro's development status. All signs suggest that the Switch Pro isn't going to rear its head anytime soon, but nevertheless, odds seem good that Nintendo is at least looking into a new console. Nintendo's recent movements have changed the trajectory of rumors without eliminating them entirely.
The State of Switch Pro Rumors
A couple strong Switch Pro rumors have appeared in the last few months. An Nvidia leak from February 2022 seemingly hinted at graphical software for a Nintendo Switch 2, seemingly confirming that Nintendo has its next console in development. Additionally, the delay of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has inspired some speculation that a new Switch model will release in early 2023 alongside this title. If Nintendo has a more powerful version of the Switch in mind, it would definitely make sense to launch it alongside a game as highly demanded as the Breath of the Wild sequel.
As Switch Pro leaks start to wind down, some fans and insiders have also pointed towards Nintendo patterns that could lead toward a Switch Pro or New Nintendo Switch. The Switch Lite released in 2019 about two years after the original Switch, and the Switch OLED released two years after that, meaning Nintendo may very well intend to release a new Switch model every two years for the foreseeable future. Nintendo also has a habit of producing many versions of one console, like it did with the Nintendo 3DS, so a fourth iteration of the Switch wouldn't be out of the question.
The Switch Pro's Fate and Future
Unfortunately, all of these rumors need to be taken with far more than a grain of salt. Nintendo has stated in no uncertain terms that it has no plans to replace the Switch, nor does it plan on releasing another Switch model soon, instead intending to keep working with its current console for the next few years. Rumors about a New Nintendo Switch 2 acting as a companion to Breath of the Wild 2 may make sense in theory, but Nintendo's statements make them seem unlikely. Nintendo could very well be misleading fans intentionally in order to preserve the surprise of a new console, but it's more likely overall that Nintendo really does want to stay committed to the Switch.
Regardless of Nintendo's explicit intentions, though, rumors about a Switch Pro or a New Nintendo Switch 2 will continue to swirl. Many fans want a 4K Switch with performance that matches the other current-gen consoles, so any sign that such a console is in development will have no trouble getting attention. Nintendo seems to have thoroughly dashed any hopes of a new Switch model or another console in 2022, but by 2023, its plans may have changed. 2023 is a long ways off, so for now, the Switch will just have to keep carrying Nintendo to new heights.
