As Nintendo Switch 2 is steadily approaching its first anniversary, its development kits remain in exceedingly short supply, preventing studios of all sizes from properly supporting the console with content. According to one recently emerged report, these supply issues have now been ongoing for long enough to have started frustrating even some experienced devs with multiple successful Switch games to their name.
Thousands of developers have been unsuccessfully trying to procure Switch 2 dev kits since long before Nintendo’s latest console hit the store shelves on June 5, 2025. At first, reports from industry insiders suggested Nintendo was wary of sharing dev kits ahead of the console’s official reveal. While providing unreleased hardware to studios is standard practice across the industry, Nintendo has historically been more selective about early developer partners than Sony and Microsoft, so the decision didn’t raise many eyebrows at the time. However, after the long-awaited Switch 2 launch came and went in June, what became clear was that guarding against leaks was just one part of the equation for Nintendo because it didn’t have that many dev kits to begin with. As a matter of fact, it still doesn’t.
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The Switch 2’s Invitation-Only Bottleneck
Eight months and 17 million Switch 2 sales later, the situation somehow seems worse, at least from the perspective of anyone not working for one of the industry’s behemoths. A recent report from Danish outlet Arkaden raises some concerns from such professionals, who are said to be growing increasingly frustrated with Nintendo due to the ongoing situation. Though the report does not mention anyone from the European games industry by name, it dismisses recent rumors of the Switch 2 dev kit supply being resolved, insisting it is still very much in a state of a major shortage.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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Switch 2 Dev Kits May Not Be in Short Supply So Much as Withheld
Some of Arkaden’s sources paint the current situation as less of a logistics issue and more of a result of intentional company policy, not least because Nintendo still isn’t accepting dev kit applications as of February 2026. The Japanese gaming giant has not yet offered any concrete reasons for the hold-up, whose most obvious benefit is that it helps maintain third-party support for the company’s last-gen console. The fact that the Switch 2 has been readily available the world over for six out of its first eight months on the market is another indication the dev kit scarcity is by design.
Timeline of Nintendo Switch 2 Dev Kit Updates
Jan 16, 2025: after formally announcing its new console, Nintendo said it was “not accepting requests” for the Switch 2 dev environment at the time.
Apr 3, 2025: Reports suggest some of the industry’s largest publishers that weren’t already supporting the Switch 2 launch secured a limited number of dev kits.
June 5, 2025: Switch 2 released globally; still no meaningful updates on dev kit availability for smaller devs.
Aug 26, 2025: Digital Foundry reports that Nintendo is telling devs to just make Switch 1 games since those are compatible with the Switch 2.
Aug 28, 2025: The last of the widespread Switch 2 shortages are over, with consumer supply thus stabilizing before dev access.
Dec 30, 2025: Imran Khan reports dev kit supply is “largely” resolved
Jan 23, 2026: a new Arkaden report citing numerous industry members claims major Siwtch 2 dev kit shortages are ongoing
Nintendo’s deliberate handling of the dev kit rollout is already inhibiting some Switch 2 upgrades for older games, with their creators repeatedly stressing as much in response to fan inquiries. Back in August, reports emerged that Nintendo was even actively discouraging smaller third-party devs from making near-term Switch 2 plans. Instead, its representatives are said to have proposed focusing on Switch 1 games and relying on the Switch 2′ backward compatibility for the time being.
While the differences between consecutive console generations are undoubtedly getting smaller in terms of graphical fidelity, that only truly applies to traditional home consoles. Handhelds and hybrid devices like the Switch 2 are still delivering substantial technological improvements every few years. That’s largely because their manufacturers are forced to grapple with a much tighter balancing act between power, thermals, and battery life, so any meaningful jump in performance-per-watt tends to be much more obvious. As such, there is currently no shortage of developers ready to let go of the Switch 1’s 2017 RAM and 2018 SoC—the only question is when Nintendo will let them.
Sources: Nintendo Everything, Digital Foundry
