Are we about to get news about the successor to the renowned Nintendo Switch? If we believe one infamous leaker, Nash Weedle, an unnamed Spain-based video game developer already has their hand on the still-unnamed console.
- Metroid Dread developer reportedly has a Nintendo Switch successor.
- The Spanish studio MercurySteam is suspected to have the dev kit.
- The dev kit suggests the new console is in its final stages.
Weedle, known for his leaks of Metroid Dread before its official announcement three years ago, has dropped an interesting bit of information once again.
According to Weedle, a Spanish game development studio has received a dev kit for the Nintendo Switch successor. While he hasn’t directly named the studio, avid gaming enthusiasts believe it to be MercurySteam, the Madrid-based team that developed Metroid Dread. The theory adds up when considering Nintendo’s trust in MercurySteam after the critical and sales success of Metroid Dread.
Leak Express:
⚠️El kit de desarrollo de Switch 2 ha llegado a España.
Que un estudio español ya disponga del kit, frente a la política de secretismo de Nintendo, es un impulso en sus relaciones e indica que estamos en las últimas fases previas a la presentación de la consola. pic.twitter.com/E6JjUAAlEa
— Nash Weedle “El Analista de Leaks” (@NWeedle) July 1, 2023
The delivery of a dev kit to a developer is a critical marker in the lifecycle of a new console. It symbolizes that the console is in its last stages of development and games are being prepared for its launch. The secrecy surrounding the Spanish studio receiving the dev kit has brought forward conjectures that Nintendo is trying to keep the development of its next console under wraps.
Much like its predecessors, Nintendo is again speculated to be playing around with controllers, keeping the original design of the console a secret.
Adding fuel to the speculation fire, a Spanish YouTuber ‘Behind the Games’ mentioned that the unknown Spanish studio is testing the dev kit with a Nintendo Switch Pro controller. This hints at Nintendo’s high-stakes plan to launch the Switch 2 with an innovatively designed controller that might be more than a slightly improved version of the current Joy-Cons.
While the excitement around the successor is palpable, it’s essential to keep a balanced perspective. Historically, dev kits have been sent out long before the release of the console. Remember, PlayStation 5 dev kits started appearing in leaked images over a year before the PS5 was launched. Similarly, rumors about games being developed for a Nintendo Switch 4K console were around as early as September 2021.
Adding a dash of credibility to Weedle’s claims, Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa has already partaken in a Q&A session to guide users on how to transition smoothly to the unannounced console. Furthermore, Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, mentioned active discussions with Nintendo about its next-gen console, which he presumes will be roughly as powerful as the PS4 and Xbox One.
All of this comes just weeks after Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, mentioned that Nintendo warned it about releasing Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for the Nintendo Switch instead of holding out for Nintendo’s next console.
Looking at the bigger picture, we know very little about the next-gen Nintendo console. However, rumors suggest it could come out anytime between 2024 and 2025.
Something tells us that Nintendo will try to squeeze more out of the Nintendo Switch, which has been a huge success over the course of its lifetime, bolstered in recent years with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, among others.
