Hey, it’s me – another elderly millennial who grew up with Nintendo, and continues to worship at their altar. (It’s red, there are mushrooms, etc). I was super stoked to get the Nintendo Switch 2 last year. Since then, my family and I have had a blast with Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Plus, we can enjoy enhanced Switch 2 versions of Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. To say nothing of stellar third-party titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky, and Star Wars Outlaws.
I was just as excited heading into 2026, the first full year with the Switch 2. But as we reach the halfway point, I’m starting to get disappointed with this year’s games.
Is Nintendo relying too much remakes and enhanced editions?
Is even the big N afraid to tussle with Grand Theft Auto 6 come November?
Year Two, Act One
So far in 2026, we have seen three major, all-new first party games for the Nintendo Switch 2:
Mario sports games are entertaining, but limiting (kart racers not included!). The latest Yoshi offering is cute and charming, and a nice option for younger players, but it’s far from revolutionary or memorable.
Pokémon Pokopia is unquestionably a triumph of marrying Minecraft and Animal Crossing within the world of Pokémon. It’s an utter delight for genre fans, and easily this year’s system seller. Though Pokémon fans have to wait until 2027 to get their hands on the next big mainline games, Pokémon Winds and Waves.
Sure, we got another enhanced Switch 2 version in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but Wonder just came out a few years ago on Switch (it’s great), and the Switch 2 edition mostly focuses on multiplayer minigames.
(Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has also been successful, though it’s technically exclusive to the OG Switch).
Third party releases this year include Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Two Point Museum, Fallout 4, Pragmata, Resident Evil 7, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Reflection (a series which used to be Nintendo-exclusive). It’s a solid lineup, though also indicative of the delayed release for many AAA games on the Switch 2.
Granted, the Switch 2 has to catch up all the big games of the last generation, but we really have to wait an extra four months for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight?
Year Two, Act Two
The following major Switch 2 exclusives are still to come in the back half of 2026:
- Star Fox (June 25)
- Splatoon Raiders (July 23)
- Orbitals (September 3)
- Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (September 17)
- Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (October 22)
- The Duskbloods (TBA, but confirmed as 2026)
Oh, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Ocarina of Time was just announced during the most recent Nintendo Direct, and described as “reborn for the Switch 2,” which sounds (and looks, judging from the brief tease) like a full blown remake. No release date other than this year.
So, modern remakes of Star Fox and Ocarina of Time, and a spiritual successor to Wii Sports that nobody asked for.
Now I’ll be honest, I will play the heck out of an Ocarina of Time remake, one of the greatest games of all time. But it’s not the first remake for OoT, or Star Fox for that matter. And remakes don’t count for new games.
That leaves us with a new Fire Emblem, a single player spinoff of Splatoon, a retro anime co-op adventure in Orbitals, and The Duskbloods, a dark fantasy multiplayer action game starring vampires.
Vampires & Squidlings
While it doesn’t exactly look like a Nintendo exclusive, The Duskbloods should be on everyone’s radar given the developer pedigree: FromSoftware, of Dark Souls fame. Unfortunately, we still haven’t seen much of the game, and the new teaser trailer did not include a release date.
Nintendo at least confirmed that The Duskbloods is launching later this year, after a closed network test this summer.
Orbitals is the biggest unknown of the Switch 2 exclusives, a two-player co-op adventure set in a retro anime sci-fi world. The anime style looks straight out of Gundam and Evangelion, but we’ll have to see if the cooperative gameplay measures up.
At least Splatoon Raiders and Fortune’s Weave are big games in major franchises.
Splatoon’s situation is a little more fraught, however. The series is known for its family-friendly, paint-shooting, competitive multiplayer battles. But Raiders is a single player-only outing, inspired by the single player components of the main series (Raiders will also feature a co-op mode for up to four players).
Can Splatoon Raiders draw a wider audience? And will fans want to dally with a dedicated single-player Splatoon game?
Fire Emblem has a good chance to be a solid success, though in a more niche genre. The tactical strategy series became a multi-million seller over the last decade and a half with 3DS and Switch. Three Houses and Engage sold well and were enjoyed by fans, and Fortune’s Weave is the first game made specifically for the Switch 2.
As a strategy game fan, I’m most excited for Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. But it’s looking like slim pickings for Nintendo fans for the rest of the year.
More than any other publisher, Nintendo relies on their first-party titles and globally beloved brands. New Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon games move mountains in the gaming world. But we suspect even Nintendo doesn’t want to launch anything too big this holiday season, with the black hole of gaming known as GTA.
And goodness knows Pokémon can always benefit from more development time!
Despite some disappointment this year, the future looks bright for the Switch 2; hopefully 2027 will be a banner year.
So say the Nintendo faithful!
Which Switch 2 exclusive are you most looking forward to in 2026, or beyond? Let us know in our social media channels, and sign up for our weekly newsletter!
