It’s time for yet another Switch 2 rumor, but this one actually has a release date

It’s only a matter of time before the Nintendo Switch’s successor is finally revealed, but it seems like the official announcement is actually close. And the console’s release date may not be much later, either.

There has been a deluge of Switch 2 rumors and speculation for several weeks now, including peripheral-makers showing off controllers and JoyCons for the unannounced Switch successor at CES this week. But the latest one is a rumor that comes from a source that’s gotten to two substantial announcements ahead of time recently.

Average Lucia Fanatic, an anonymous leaker who has had early info on both the PS5 Pro and Nintendo Alarmo, revealed today that the supposed date for the announcement is in just one week, on Jan. 17. And the console will be coming a little over a month later, according to them.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch on March 3, according to the leaker, which is a Monday. That’s not a common day for Nintendo launches or game launches in general—but it is eight years to the day of the original Nintendo Switch’s release on March 3, 2017.

According to Average Lucia Fanatic, launch titles will include Mario Kart 9 and Red Dead Redemption 2, with Nintendo also set to reveal a new 3D Mario title, similarly to how the Switch had Super Mario Odyssey launch later in the year. A new Mario Kart makes sense, but RDR2 is a bit of a unique launch title. If true, it feels like Nintendo is saying “look at what this console can do that the original Switch couldn’t” when it comes to running more graphically-intensive titles.

If the leak proves to be true, stay tuned, because an official announcement could be coming some time in the early days of next week.