Digital Foundry: Nintendo canceled Switch upgrade

Nintendo reportedly had an updated variant of the Nintendo Switch in development, but the improved handheld was ultimately canceled, according to Digital Foundry. It is not clear why that happened.

Original Nintendo Switch from 2017

John Linneman of Digital Foundry reports based on various developers that Nintendo had an improved Switch in development at some point. He states: “From what I understand based on conversations with several developers, a mid-generation Switch update was in development but that doesn’t seem to be happening anymore.” It is not clear why the Japanese gaming company canceled the handheld in question.

Linneman then says that the next Nintendo console is expected to herald the next generation and is therefore not a refresh. This would not happen already in 2023. He reasons that Nintendo is “probably very nervous about this.” The brand would alternate success with flops in terms of console releases; the poorly selling GameCube would be succeeded by the successful Wii, of which more than 100 million copies were sold. The subsequent Wii U was sold less than 14 million times, but the Switch was again a resounding success.