The 10th generation of the mega-popular Pokemon franchise was revealed just days ago. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company unveiled Pokemon Waves and Winds–which are Switch 2 exclusives not arriving until 2027. That’s a bit of a Pikachu shock considering it will be the longest wait ever for mainline games in the series. But it’s also surprising because it raises a big question for Switch 2 this year: What exclusive game will anchor the holiday season?
With the original Switch, Nintendo loaded the system’s first three holiday seasons with huge heavy hitters. In 2017, Super Mario Odyssey served as the main event, while 2018 saw a Cerebus-like approach with Super Mario Party, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Then, in 2019, Nintendo put the spotlight on Luigi’s Mansion 3 along with Pokemon Sword and Shield.
As for Switch 2, the system’s first holiday season months ago only included one true exclusive in Kirby Air Riders. That’s an odd choice considering the previous title was a cult-classic GameCube title. Sure, Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond also assisted late last year, but they’re both cross-generational titles available on the original Switch, too.
That leads us to now and later in 2026. Nintendo needs a strong showing, especially considering company president Shuntaro Furukawa admitted holiday Switch 2 sales didn’t meet internal goals outside Japan at a recent financial briefing question-and-answer session. “As for the volume of hardware sales, you are correct that sales in Japan exceeded our expectations while overseas sales were somewhat weaker than expected,” Furukawa said. This came after a report noted that Switch 2 was lagging behind the original Switch’s first holiday season.
Here’s what we do know: Nintendo has three previously announced Switch 2 games with no release window yet. They are The Duskbloods by From Software, the spin-off Splatoon Raiders, and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. Of this trio, Splatoon seems like the strongest from a sales perspective. Nintendo noted that Splatoon 3 had sold almost 12 million copies as of March 2024. However, the shooter series has never been released during the holiday period, and it’d be interesting to see a spin-off positioned as the must-have Switch 2 title during this competitive time frame.
When you reflect on Switch’s best-selling games, a couple jump out as possibilities for release later this year. First, a new 3D Mario makes the most sense. It’ll have been nine years since Super Mario Odyssey came out, and it has sold over 30 million copies. However, the Odyssey team was behind last summer’s Donkey Kong Bananza on Switch 2, so could they have been working in tandem on two such projects?
The next would be a new entry in the Super Smash Bros. series. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be eight years old later this year, and the game hasn’t seen any sort of Switch 2 upgrade. This will mark the longest time gap between releases for the fighting franchise, too, like Pokemon. But creator Masahiro Sakurai just worked on Kirby Air Riders, so it’s hard to envision such a quick turnaround.
Maybe the most likely candidate is a new Mario Party title. Sure, Nintendo released a new Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Party Jamboree last year, but a game specifically built for the hybrid system shouldn’t be out of the question. Another possibility is Luigi’s Mansion 4. This might surprise you, but Luigi’s Mansion 3 has sold over 14 million copies. Add in that developer Next Level Games hasn’t put out a game since 2022’s Mario Strikers: Battle League, and the timeline makes more sense than some other options. (Next Level did assist on Metroid Prime 4 in the meantime.)
The last couple of long shots are new installments in the Animal Crossing and Legend of Zelda franchises. The former seems improbable, especially considering Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 released in January. That update came in tandem with Animal Crossing: New Horizon Switch 2 Edition. As for The Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both received Switch 2 Edition upgrades last year, and it hasn’t even been three years since the latter was first released. If anything, a Zelda remake could be an option, whether that’s a Link to the Past in Link’s Awakening style or maybe something like Ocarina of Time going further than the 3DS version.
It’s hard to foresee Nintendo not pulling from one of these major franchise wells for Switch 2’s second holiday season–a truly important sales period. There’s plenty of time for the company to reveal whatever exclusive game that is, as 2026 in general is sparse with exclusive titles so far. But, once again, with Pokemon Waves and Winds set to be the Switch 2 tentpoles for 2027, this year has a big opening worth keeping an eye on.
