It’s official: There are no Nintendo Switch 2 reviews. Here’s what that means for us, and you

It’s official: for the first time in more than 20 years, there will be no pre-release reviews for a new Nintendo console.

According to a company spokesperson, Nintendo decided not to send Switch 2 review units to press ahead of launch because “important features and updates” will only be available via a system update on the day of the console’s official release, on June 5.

It did not say what these updates entail, or explain why the media wasn’t offered the opportunity to review its launch games, like Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Welcome Tour, at in-person events instead, like it did with previous console launches such as Wii. Neither did it explain why critics can’t be trusted to cover products with knowledge that additional functionality will be patched later, as they’re frequently used to.

How and when game creators decide to distribute their review products is, of course, their prerogative, and the media has no right to early samples. Game coverage has also changed drastically over the past decade, with more priority given to post-release coverage of today’s increasingly complex video games.

But a lack of coverage at or before release is bad for you, our readers. When Switch 2 arrives, there will have been no reviews of its software, no analysis of its hardware performance or battery life, or any testing of its key features, such as Game Chat, or how backwards compatible Switch 1 games perform. No hidden gems will be unearthed, and no potential dodgy ports highlighted, before you have a chance of spending your hard-earned money.

And when reviews do arrive, well after launch day, many critics will have been incentivized to rush through their games as quickly as possible, with Google and social media rewarding speed over quality.

For Nintendo, this won’t matter. Its launch allocation of Switch 2 consoles will almost certainly sell out to early adopters, who are not as concerned with the critical consensus as they might have been in years past. Publications like VGC will continue to cover the console anyway, after Switch 2 goes on sale.

For the media, of course, it’s disappointing. It’s a tough time for all independent publications, which is why we’re increasingly calling for readers to support us via Patreon, and with both GTA 6 and pre-launch Switch 2 review coverage now off the table, 2025 just got a bit tougher for everybody.

It also means that, like other sites – including the very biggest – we’ll now need to juggle our Switch 2 review coverage with one of the biggest events of the year, Summer Game Fest, which takes place during this launch weekend, which Nintendo will have been well aware of.

But it’s not just the media that misses out: more than 20 Switch 2 launch games from third parties have now effectively been prevented from generating any day-one review coverage for their titles. Many publishers have reached out to sites like VGC asking for clarification around when the press would receive review units, and some even said they wished they’d chosen to release their games later, after it became clear they would not be able to secure authentic editorial coverage at all.

“When Switch 2 releases, there will have been no reviews of its software, no analysis of its hardware performance or battery life, or any sort of testing of its key features like Game Chat.”

Perhaps it really was a technical nightmare for Nintendo to provide pre-launch review access to press – we’re already seeing, for example, that those who have somehow gained access to the console pre-launch, cannot use them at all until a future system update. And there’s certainly no precedent of Nintendo being adversarial with press reviews: in my experience, in fact, it’s historically been one of the most critic-friendly companies, often supplying software many weeks in advance.

And I don’t personally believe the decision to hold back reviews comes from a lack of confidence in its launch line-up either: my recent time playing Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Welcome Tour at Nintendo’s UK office was great fun and had me excited to spend more time with the games.

But consoles have launched with day one patches for over a decade, and the media are well used to covering unfinished products, so, in my opinion, this decision is more likely related to Nintendo’s paranoia around leaks as it is with any missing functionality before launch day – those leaked videos of early consoles that can’t run games certainly strengthen that hypothesis.

No matter how integral Nintendo believes patched-in features like (potentially) Game Chat are to the overall experience, it’s difficult to believe that it couldn’t have found a way for reviewers to experience them pre-release.

It’s undoubtedly a bad look, especially following a number of decisions that many fans have received negatively. Switch 2 arrives at a time when its maker has spearheaded an unprecedented $80 price point for games, the prevalence of Game Key Cards is annoying preservationists, and the company regularly declines to disclose who is actually making its games.

History tells us, a lack of transparency with the press isn’t good for consumers. Cyberpunk 2077’s shocking console launch, let’s not forget, was only allowed to happen through a similar withholding of review code, which led to a nasty surprise for many players.

On the flip side, when Bethesda briefly implemented its no-pre-release-reviews policy a decade ago, Doom, Prey, and Dishonored 2 missed out on a tremendous amount of positive coverage from critics, with their sales curves suggesting many players wanted to hear from reviews before deciding on a purchase (Bethesda later reversed the policy).

Nintendo has made its decision, and on VGC we will be covering Switch 2 and its launch games comprehensively, as quickly as we’re able to while maintaining our editorial standards. Summer Game Fest means our reviews may sadly come later than we hoped, but we want to make sure we spend time delivering the right coverage for our readers and Patreon supporters. In the meantime, if you have any views on how we should present our launch editorial, please do let us know in the comments and on Discord.