The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been unveiled. Although leaks and rumors have basically already revealed just about all there is to know about the upcoming hybrid console itself, Nintendo has managed to keep a pretty tight lid on its game library.
As of right now, we only know for sure that Nintendo has the ninth entry of the Mario Kart series planned for the Switch 2. However, they also revealed that a dedicated Switch 2 Direct will be airing on April 2, 2025, which should reveal more games.
It’s been about three weeks since Nintendo first officially revealed the Switch 2, but they recently reiterated on X their plans to host a Direct on April 2 for some reason. This has seemingly quashed any rumors of a Direct for the month of February.
Even though nothing new was actually announced with this post, Masahiro Sakurai, the Super Smash Bros. series Director, had an interesting reaction to share. On the surface, it doesn’t amount to much as he simply just exclaims “Wow!” but many are speculating that there could be more to it.
へー！ https://t.co/lle81eaVCo
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) February 5, 2025
As pointed out on Reddit, Sakurai has apparently used this exact phrase during the “Battling with Sora” presentation for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It came immediately after Sora’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate trailer was revealed.
While this could just be a coincidence, there are some other interesting factors to consider with this situation. At this moment, it seems highly probable that Sakurai is developing a new game for the Switch 2.
Sakurai has apparently been working on a secret game project since April 2022. The game proposal for it was finished “at lightning speed” back in July 2021 while Sakurai was still juggling the Kazuya and Sora DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
“I’m sorry I can’t share more about this project, but assuming we’re able to get it made, it should be announced sooner or later.” — Masahiro Sakurai
Of course, Sakurai wasn’t ready to share too many details about this secret game project just yet. “I’m sorry I can’t share more about this project, but assuming we’re able to get it made, it should be announced sooner or later,” stated Sakurai.
Considering that Sakurai began working on this mysterious project back in April 2022, this upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 2, 2025 will roughly mark the three-year anniversary of the development cycle of this unknown title.
Could Sakurai’s secret game project get revealed during this Switch 2 focused Direct in April 2025? Many believe that this could be what Sakurai is hinting at with his post on X.
While it feels highly likely that Sakurai’s next game intended for the Switch 2, it’s not entirely clear if it will be the next entry in the Super Smash Bros. series or something else entirely. Having said that, there are a number of signs that are pointing towards that possibility.
As mentioned before, it’s only been revealed that a new Mario Kart title will be available on the Switch 2 at some point in the future. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is known to be the best-selling game on the Switch with 67.35 million units sold worldwide.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has held strong as the third best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch with 35.88 million unit sales. It’s reasonable to suspect that Nintendo might want to continue the tradition of releasing a new Super Smash Bros. entry for every mainline Nintendo console since the Nintendo 64 considering how successful the series has been for them.
Curiously, Nintendo recently released patch 13.0.3 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which fixed an issue with the game’s online system. This wasn’t a recently discovered issue as it had actually been plaguing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate since it was released.
Needless to say, this situation feels very similar to how Nintendo was able to release a new patch for Super Smash Bros. 4 that specifically aimed to nerf Bayonetta after all post-launch content had been released. We found out later that this was possible because development on the next Super Smash Bros. entry had already begun by that point.
It was also interesting to see the final batch of Spirit Board events get released for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This was done in celebration of Smash Ultimate’s fifth anniversary.
Could history be repeating itself? Is Masahiro Sakurai already deep into the development of the next Super Smash Bros. entry for the Switch 2?
It may not seem like much, but Sakurai’s response on X could be taken as a hint towards all of this. Sakurai himself knows just how much people pay attention whenever he says or does anything, so the speculation feels like it could be by Sakurai’s design.
Ultimately though, we’ll have to wait until that Switch 2 focused Nintendo Direct on April 2, 2025 to get to the truth of all of this.
Source: Event Hubs
