A new survey has revealed that there are already a significant number of developers working on games for the Nintendo Switch 2.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the 2024 GDC State of the Game Industry survey has revealed that 8 % of the survey respondents are working on games for the upcoming platform. They contacted roughly 3000 developers for this survey, so that adds up to 250 respondents, or developers, who are working on those games for Nintendo.
Of course, we don’t know how many of those developers are working in the same studio. We also don’t know how many are working for Nintendo, but it isn’t that likely that most or all of these respondents are. It’s also possible that even more people who were in this survey are making games for the Switch 2, but chose not to confirm it because of non-disclosure rules.
Answering a separate question, 32 % of the survey respondents were interested in Nintendo’s next console. That is in contrast to 62 % of respondents interested in PC, and 41 % interested in PlayStation 5.
All of this adds up to growing evidence that Nintendo is set to announce and release their next console. That in itself really is not a surprise at all. The Switch is now entering its eight year, and while it staged an unexpected rally due to the mitigating circumstances of the pandemic, it is now at a spot where sales of the console are starting to slow down.
There are so many reasons for Nintendo to move on to their next console, and of course, every console company prepares the next generation as soon as they launch their current generation platform. So we know Nintendo has been working on this console for a while, and is planning with new market conditions in mind.
The only real question is when Nintendo finally bites the bullet, to make the official announcement and the actual release. Unlike the late Satoru Iwata, current Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa is not teasing or telegraphing when the next console is coming up. That’s left fans and reporters chasing rumors, but at least the information in this survey can be certified and is not just hearsay.
If nothing else, this survey is a clear sign that we are moving closer and closer to Nintendo’s next platform. Fans are just going to have to be patient, not that they are lacking for content on the Switch right now.
