Nintendo Switch 2 JoyCon patent teases further confirmation of mouse-like functionality

The patent paperwork for the Nintendo Switch 2 and its JoyCons may have just confirmed the theory of the console having a computer mouse-like control option.

Shared widely by @Wario64 on Twitter/X, a link to the patent page shows several applications of the console and how it functions, including JoyCons in each hand or docked to the Switch 2 like we have come to know and love, but the new images above tease the mouse that we may be getting.

The Switch 2 JoyCon mouse speculation began after Nintendo first announced the new console back in January in a short teaser video. At about 1:11 of the video, you can see the right JoyCon add an attachment to the part of the controller that usually docks into the Switch. It’s joined by the other, and they slide around for a while, kind of like a mouse. And now, that speculation is looking realer by the day.

The images reveal that there could be several ways to play with the mouse-like addition to the JoyCon, including one “mouse” in each hand, using your thumb to use the analog stick while using the “mouse,” and playing with one “mouse” and one default wireless JoyCon to allow for a variety of different play methods. I think that the images in the patent are exciting, opening up the door for new ways to play Switch 2 games, different kinds of accessibility options, and even the potential to attract some PC gamers to pick up a Switch 2 if they’re dedicated to that kind of way to play.

This obviously is not confirmed yet, and likely won’t be until the Switch 2 presentation on April 2. Patent ideas are never set in stone, and some are just concept work, but with the way that Nintendo teased this sort of functionality in the reveal teaser, it would be a pretty big surprise for it to not come to fruition.

This seems like a good time to remind gamers that Call of Duty will likely be coming to the Switch 2 as part of Microsoft’s 10-year partnership with Nintendo, which was announced nearly two years ago now. The mouse-like JoyCon could really come in handy in an FPS.

I’m most excited, though, to see how Nintendo utilizes these potential different control methods for different ways to play its first-party titles like Super Mario, Zelda, Splatoon, Metroid, and more, because that really is Nintendo’s best work.

We’ll know soon enough. The Nintendo Switch 2 full reveal is now less than two months way.