The Most Anticipated Games of 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch

2025 turned out to be a landmark year for Nintendo fans: the Japanese company finally released the Switch 2 and supported the new console with a lineup of notable releases. What stood out most, however, was not the exclusives but the multiplatform titles — it turned out that Switch 2 handles modern AAA games surprisingly well. In 2026, we can expect this trend to continue, meaning even more ports mixed with games developed directly by Nintendo.

The next entry in the Mario Tennis series, launching exclusively on NS2. Like its predecessors, Mario Tennis Fever is a tennis simulator with a twist, where the traditional sport is transformed through rackets with special abilities and a variety of gameplay modes.

Who would have thought that the next FromSoftware game would be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. The Duskbloods is an experimental project personally overseen by Hidetaka Miyazaki (Hidetaka Miyazaki). The legendary game designer is a fan of extraction games like Escape from Tarkov, and The Duskbloods is heavily inspired by titles of that kind.

Despite visual associations with Bloodborne, this is neither a souls-like nor a single-player narrative game. Instead, it is a PvPvE project where eight players fight each other and monsters while completing shifting victory conditions. Players control superhuman vampires with high mobility, firearms, and unique roles that affect match objectives. The Duskbloods emphasizes unpredictable events, temporary alliances, alternative win conditions, and role-based motivations, while the lore is revealed through progression and customization.

A remaster of the excellent platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder, timed to Mario’s 40th anniversary. The new version adds a multiplayer hub called Bellabel Park with social and competitive activities, where players can compete in a series of mini-game challenges with friends both locally and online.

A platformer starring one of Nintendo’s mascots — the green dinosaur Yoshi. In the story of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, the hero finds a talking magical book and travels into its pages, exploring different worlds. Yoshi can carry various creatures on his back, using their unique abilities to solve puzzles and progress through levels.

A cooperative adventure game announced at The Game Awards 2025. In Orbitals, the protagonists must explore a dangerous stretch of space to save their station, which has ended up at the center of a supernatural storm. The project’s defining feature is its retro aesthetic, deliberately emulating Japanese anime from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A final gift for owners of the original Switch as the console approaches the end of its life cycle. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a new entry in the life sim series, where characters live on an island, form friendships, argue, fall in love, and regularly find themselves in surreal situations. These games are quite popular: the previous 3DS title became one of the platform’s best-selling releases. The new installment promises greater control over character interactions, an improved character editor, and the franchise’s signature absurd humor intact.

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave has the potential to become one of the major RPGs of 2026 — provided it manages to bring the series’ focus back to strong characters and an emotionally driven narrative. Some fans speculate that the project may appeal to admirers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 due to its emphasis on a more intimate, dramatic story and a memorable cast, rather than relying solely on tactical combat.

In January, Switch 2 owners will be able to play Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrate. A demo version is already available in the console’s digital store and leaves an overwhelmingly positive impression: the game runs and looks excellent. This is partly expected, since it was originally developed for the weaker PlayStation 4.

Nintendo’s audience is unlikely to remain indifferent to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrate. It is a successful attempt to restore mainstream appeal to JRPGs without abandoning the genre’s roots. The game reimagines the iconic story of Midgar, the Shinra corporation, and the conflict surrounding the planet’s dwindling resources as a large-scale cinematic action experience, while preserving the core themes of the original.

At last year’s gamescom, visitors were able to try Elden Ring on Switch 2. The impressions were disappointing: many complained about frequent FPS drops. Considering that more visually impressive games run better on the system, the port’s developers have little excuse. Fortunately, the publisher decided to delay this version in order to significantly improve it. We are now waiting for a concrete release date announcement.

One of Microsoft’s first ports for Nintendo Switch 2. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is objectively a very beautiful but also quite demanding game, making it especially interesting to see how it performs on a hybrid console.

It is good to see that one of the year’s biggest releases will be available on Nintendo Switch 2 from day one. There is already plenty of footage of Resident Evil Requiem running on the new console, and while this version is clearly inferior to ports for more powerful hardware, Capcom has managed to preserve the overall visual style and atmosphere while avoiding major graphical compromises.

The long-awaited game about James Bond’s rise as a secret agent in service of His Majesty will also be released on Switch 2. This is welcome news, as 007 First Light looks intriguing: a blend of the Uncharted and Hitman series that captures the spirit of the Bond franchise quite effectively.

A new project from the creators of the first two Little Nightmares games. The gameplay of REANIMAL, along with its atmosphere and visual style, deliberately echoes their previous works (a grim world, stealth, unsettling monsters), but it tells an original story that is not formally connected to another series.

Capcom plans to release not only Resident Evil Requiem for Nintendo Switch 2, but also Pragmata. This is a third-person action game about an astronaut stranded on a lunar station after a rogue AI cuts off communication with Earth. The protagonist’s companion is a girl android who can hack enemy defense systems, exposing them to attack. Pragmata’s entire gameplay loop is built around this mechanic: instead of simply shooting enemies, players must solve simple puzzle mini-games in the heat of combat to bypass enemy shields.

A new project from the creators of Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales follows the story of the adventurer Elliot and the fairy Faie, who leave their safe kingdom to explore a monster-occupied continent and uncover the secret of a powerful artifact. The project emphasizes exploration, tactical action with dodges and parries, as well as rich lore and a charming 2D art style.

That wraps up our list, though Nintendo and its partners will of course release far more games in 2026 than what has been announced so far. Stay tuned so you don’t miss future reveals.