The Nintendo Switch has been a runaway success, proving that raw power is not the be-all and end-all for consoles. Through a combination of Nintendo's first-party games, a solid selection of triple-A third-party titles, and all the indie projects anyone could ever want, the Switch has amassed a stellar library that can match most platforms in terms of quality and quantity.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are two of the greatest games of the last five years, but there is always a chance that the best Nintendo Switch game has yet to be released. 2021 produced Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Monster Hunter Rise, NEO: The World Ends With You, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, Shin Megami Tensei 5, and Metroid Dread, and 2022 has been pretty decent so far.
Here's a look at all the titles we can expect to see on the Nintendo Switch in the remainder of 2022 and beyond. Which big Nintendo Switch games have release dates?
Please note the focus is on North American release dates.
Updated August 24, 2022: The upcoming Nintendo Switch games were added to the calendar over the last week: Aquadine, Kaichu - The Kaiju Dating Sim, Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary, Let's Build a Zoo, New Tales from the Borderlands, River City Girls 1 & 2, OneShot: World Machine Edition, Beacon Pines, Jack Move, Dungeons 4, Alien War, Criminal Expert, Like No Other: The Legend Of The Twin Books, Escape game & Card search game R01M, Forest Camp Story, Createscape Town ~ Nyanzou&Kumakichi: Escape Game ~, Hidden Shapes: Black Skull + Old West, Enduring Mountain, Narona Sports, Moorhuhn X - Crazy Chicken X, The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands, Viki Spotter: Undersea, United Assault - Normandy '44, Robby's Adventure, Golazo! 2, Project Snaqe, ANNO: Mutationem, Here Comes Niko!, City Wars: Tokyo Reign, Super Sunny Island, Tower Princess, Svoboda 1945: Liberation, Queen's Garden Sakura Season, fault - StP - LIGHTKRAVTE, Accident, BIRFIA, Camped Out!, From Space, Dorfromantik, Fantasy Blacksmith, Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Bloody Ties, NAIAD, NASCAR Rivals, Arkanoid: Eternal Battle, Doraemon: Story of Seasons - Friends of the Great Kingdom, Moving Out 2, Heidelberg 1693.
August 2022 might not be overly stacked with huge releases, but there are quite a few intriguing games scheduled to drop by the end of the month. Switch owners with an interest in management sims should check out Two Point Campus, while indie RPG fans have Blossom Tales 2 on the horizon.
The anime gaming market will be getting a boost during this month as both SD Gundam Battle Alliance and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-gon Breath will be debuting, and Dusk Driver 2 has an anime aesthetic. Tinykin looks like it could be a fun puzzle platformer that could help fill the void for those people who are tired of waiting for a new Pikmin game. Pac-Man World Re-PAC will also be coming out for fans of the classic PS1 game.
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September might be the end of Summer, but it is the beginning of the year's season of gaming, at least the way things are shaking up. While somewhat front-loaded with its biggest titles, the month still has a steady schedule of releases for the rest of its weeks. Splatoon 3 is the Nintendo exclusive that will hog the limelight for September, and if the sequel improves a few things from Splatoon 2, it is likely to be the Switch's best 2022 multiplayer game.
Anime fans can pick up JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R and Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness on the same day; the former is a fighting game while the latter takes players on an action-driven adventure. RPG fans looking for a strategy-based title should keep an eye on Square Enix and Lancarse's The DioField Chronicle; meanwhile, people who prefer more traditional turn-based JRPGs can check out The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero.
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October 2022 is shaping up to be the biggest month of the year for the Nintendo Switch. These few weeks are set to include both exclusives and third-party titles, including a few highly anticipated ports of games that have been out for a while. Nier: Automata - The End of YoRHa Edition, No Man's Sky, and Persona 5 Royal will all be debuting on Nintendo's hybrid system. When it comes to new third-party releases, Overwatch 2 and Dragon Ball: The Breakers are likely to hog the limelight, especially in the multiplayer scene.
October 2022 will be ending with two huge Switch exclusives: Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Bayonetta 3. The former is a turn-based strategy game and a sequel to 2017's Kingdom Battle; while the title does not look primed to be a huge departure from its predecessor, it will bring to the plate a couple of changes. Bayonetta 3 is PlatinumGames' long anticipated next entry in the developer's beloved hack and slash franchise. If it is anywhere near as good as the previous releases in the series, it will be among 2022's best Switch games.
November 2022 might not be absolutely stacked with releases so far, but the month contains one of the biggest Switch games of the year. Like most of the franchise's projects, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will undoubtedly dominate the discourse when it drops. Introducing Generation 9, these RPGs look set to take some cues from Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Square Enix has also announced Tactics Ogre: Reborn for November 2022, bringing the legendary tactical RPG to modern consoles. Along with improved visuals and sound, the upcoming version will also tweak the game design. Sonic Frontiers has been confirmed for a November 11, 2022.
By the time November rolls around, the Nintendo Switch's line-up of releases will be hopefully a lot denser.
What does the rest of 2022 hold in store for Switch owners? At the moment, there isn't all that much announced for December, but there are quite a few games tentatively set for a 2022 debut. The last month of the year has a couple of titles in its ranks already, including Witch on the Holy Night and Dragon Quest Treasures. The latter is a DQ11 spin-off that casts players as treasure hunters.
Some games speculated to be coming out in 2022 but have yet to receive a release date are Disney Speedstorm, Demon Throttle, and Blood Bowl 3.
Things look even more promising in 2022 and beyond but it's important to note that not all of the following titles will drop on the Nintendo Switch. Still, with an upcoming console refresh and many developers looking to port onto the beloved systems, it's unclear just how many of these releases might actually make it to Switch fans.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a shoo-in to appear on the Switch at some point. Nintendo fans have been waiting a long time for Metroid Prime 4 and Pikmin 4, two games that will hopefully join the Switch's library in due time. There's already a lot of big-name titles expected to make their way to the Switch in the future. Hopefully, these Switch games will get release dates soon. Marvel's Midnight Suns is also a project worth keeping an eye on, particularly for fans of XCOM 2-style games.
Regardless of whatever else comes out in 2023, it is unlikely that any other game will manage to match the hype that surrounds The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.
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The industry has yet to get any concrete information concerning the following games, and it's unclear if any of them will actually release on the Switch but it's still fun to think about what players may possibly see in the future. Star Wars fans would definitely love to fight their way through enemies as The Mandalorian, although whether the rumor materializes or involves the Switch remains to be seen.
Hopefully, some of these potential rumors will become a reality in the next few years.
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