The Nintendo Switch 2 design has shown up yet again, this time in a 3D-printed mockup. Nintendo’s Switch 2 console, or whatever the company ends up officially calling it, is still several months away from release.
Nintendo has confirmed that it won’t be launching the console before the end of its next fiscal year, which isn’t until the end of March 2025. Based on that statement, a launch wouldn’t happen until at least April 2025. Most previous rumors were suggesting either March or April for the launch. Until a more recent rumor noted that Nintendo is now targeting a June launch date. Of course, that hasn’t stopped leaks of what the console may look like. This most recent design popup is starting to bring everything together.
The Nintendo Switch 2 mockup comes from a case manufacturer
What’s interesting about this latest nugget of information about Nintendo’s next console is that it comes from an accessories manufacturer. This is interesting for a few reasons. First, this is the second accessories manufacturer to leak something about the Nintendo Switch 2 design. On December 10, accessory maker Satisfye tweeted out a video of its upcoming Zen Grip 2. In that video, it briefly showed what is thought to be the Nintendo Switch 2. Satisfye has since taken down that tweet.
However, not before screenshots were taken. Now, today’s 3D-printed design mockup of the Nintendo Switch 2 comes from a case manufacturer. The mockup, along with the case was sent to YouTube content creator SwitchUp.
SwitchUp shows off the case which seems to fit the mockup perfectly. Afterward, the mockup is pulled out of the case and shown off from all angles. The entire design is exactly like what was shown in the CAD renders that surfaced back in September.
You can see the new bumper buttons that wrap around the corners of the Joy-Con controllers, which are also now rounded. The new placement of the Joy-Con detach button is also shown off, and we even get a side-by-side comparison of the Switch 2 display and the Switch OLED. While this is just a mockup, the fact that it matches the CAD renders and appears to match the design in the Satisfye leak means this is highly likely to be the final design. That being said, it’s not official, so it could still be inaccurate.
Also keep in mind though that the case manufacturer claims they have specs that allowed them to 3D print the console mockup.
The Switch 2 is both bigger and smaller than the Steam Deck
The Steam Deck is a big handheld but it’s not the biggest. It is however bigger than the Nintendo Switch OLED. It’ll also be bigger than the Nintendo Switch 2 based on the comparison with the mockup, but not entirely. The screen will actually be noticeably smaller. Meanwhile, the entire unit is bigger than the Switch 2. This shows that Nintendo looks to be focusing on making the screen as big as possible while adding some ergonomic improvements to the Joy-Con controllers.
As well as keeping the console nice and portable. So while it won’t have larger handgrips like the Steam Deck, it should be more comfortable to hold than the Switch OLED for longer periods of time.
