Nintendo announced its next-generation video game console Thursday evening, providing the first official details of the successor to the hugely successful Switch, which was released almost eight years ago. The Nintendo Switch 2 was shown off in a brief news release and promotional video that showcased the hardware design.

The Kyoto-based video game company says it will release the Switch 2 sometime in 2025 and plans to provide more information on the system through an online broadcast on April 2. No pricing information was given.

Unlike most of Nintendo’s home consoles, the Switch 2 does not represent a dramatic overhaul in its design or interface when compared to its predecessor. Similar to the original Switch, the new console is a tablet-style device with detachable controllers, and it can be played either in handheld mode or hooked up to a TV through a docking station.

Nintendo’s announcement video highlights that the Switch 2 has a larger screen than its predecessor. The kickstand, which lets users prop the screen up on a flat surface, now has a slimmer design, and the Joy-Con controllers appear to attach directly to the console through a new mechanism (rumored to be magnetic) rather than sliding along metal rails.

Nintendo didn’t show off any new Switch 2 titles beyond teasing a new Mario Kart game, nor did it say anything about the console’s specifications. Without providing technical details, the company confirmed last year that Switch games would remain compatible with its then-unannounced successor.

Members of the public will be able to try out the Switch 2 at hands-on events in 15 cities around the world, starting in New York City from April 4 to 6. Nintendo is currently accepting lottery applications for Japan’s event, which will take place on the weekend of April 26 and 27 at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo.

The Switch 2 announcement comes after a flurry of online leaks revealed several potential details about the new console, including its supposed internal specifications and physical design. Nintendo told the Sankei Shimbun newspaper last week that various images coming out of this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas were “not official,” without denying their accuracy.

Regardless of the new console’s specific capabilities, the original Nintendo Switch will be a tough act to follow. Coming off the failure of the widely derided Wii U, which launched in 2012 and only managed to ship 13.56 million units over its entire life cycle, Nintendo has sold more than 146 million Switch consoles since its release in March 2017, according to the company’s most recent quarterly financial results.

Software sales, where Nintendo makes most of its profit, have been just as strong. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, an expanded version of a game that sold 8.46 million copies on the Wii U, had moved 64.27 million units on the Switch as of Sep. 30, 2024. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was another breakout success for the platform, selling 46.45 million copies.

In Thursday’s announcement, Nintendo reaffirmed that both physical Switch software and digital downloads will be compatible with the Switch 2, signalling that the company is aiming to build continuity with the previous system. Even the name of the device is telling; while Sony is already on the PlayStation 5, the Switch 2 is the first time Nintendo has ever designated a console as a direct numerical successor.

Historically, Nintendo maintained separate product lines for home and portable consoles, for example by selling the handheld DS alongside the Wii, which had to be connected to a TV. But with the Switch’s hybrid design, Nintendo unified its strategy around a single platform.

While much remains to be seen, the Switch 2 looks to be a straightforward update to that model that could build on the success that came before.