Nintendo is mostly focusing on releasing new games for the Switch 2, but that doesn’t mean that it’s done supporting the original Switch console. The OG Switch is Nintendo’s best-selling video game console ever and has a massive install base of over 100 million users, with the vast majority of those yet to upgrade to the Switch 2.
The OG Nintendo Switch first launched all the way back in 2017, and so fans were overdue for a next-generation console by the time the Switch 2 launched last year. But even though Nintendo wants to release most of its new games on the Switch 2, there is still life in the Switch 1 yet, and April 2026 is a great example of that.
A New Nintendo Switch 2 Console Model is Coming, But There’s a Catch
Less than a year after launch, a new version of Nintendo Switch 2 is coming, but not everyone will be able to get their hands on it.
Big New Switch 1 Game Release Dates for April 2026
- Pokemon Champions – April 8
- Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream – April 16
Nintendo does not have any big first-party Nintendo Switch 2 games releasing in April 2026 at all, with the focus instead on the original Switch. On April 8, Pokemon Champions will release for the Nintendo Switch, and while the game will have some Switch 2-specific enhancements, it is not getting a native release on Nintendo’s latest console. Pokemon Champions, for the uninitiated, is a new free-to-play Pokemon battling game that has drawn some comparisons to Pokemon Stadium. Then, on April 16, Nintendo fans will be treated to Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, a quirky new life sim where players observe and interfere with the lives of Miis living on a remote island. As is the case with Pokemon Champions, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be playable on the Nintendo Switch 2 through backward compatibility, but it is not getting a native release on the console and won’t have a special Switch 2 Edition like we’ve seen with other Nintendo games.
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In some ways, Pokemon Champions and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream feel like a last hoorah for the OG Switch, but there are more games coming to the console in the future. Nintendo itself has already confirmed that Rhythm Heaven Groove is coming to the Switch 1, and like Pokemon Champions and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, it will strictly be a Switch 1 game with no native Switch 2 release (or at least, one hasn’t been announced yet). As far as we know, Rhythm Heaven Groove will be the last major game published by Nintendo for the original Switch, but it’s always possible that more games will be announced. No release date has been announced for Rhythm Heaven Groove, but the latest leaks suggest that the game will launch at some point this summer.
Rumor has it that Nintendo will be hosting a big Nintendo Direct presentation in June. The event is expected to focus largely on Switch 2 games, with a new Star Fox game and a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time rumored to be at the show. It’s entirely possible that the June 2026 Nintendo Direct will include announcements for the OG Switch as well, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
Releases like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Pokemon Champions, and Rhythm Heaven Groove prove that there is still life in the original Switch. However, 2026 does seem like it will be the last year that Nintendo releases anything big on the platform. Nintendo fans that have yet to upgrade but want to play all the latest and greatest games from the company will definitely want to consider buying a Switch 2 sooner rather than later, but those that have yet to do so will at least still have some games to look forward to in April 2026 and beyond.
- Released
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April 16, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
