Incoming long post that maybe should be its own thread and coincidentally pairs well with
@praisethesun's post above mine.
What do you think will be the first retail game from any or each of the following publishers on Switch 2? For reference, I pulled the first retail game I could find on the Nintendo Fandom wiki's software list (
example page), using multiple regions and their earliest dates as reference, which means some of these games had different release dates or never released in different regions. I'm not looking for games that will get Switch 2 patches (of which there may be many) unless you think they'll get a new retail box with a Switch 2 label.
- Ubisoft: Just Dance 2017 (3/3/17)
- Activision: Skylanders: Imaginators (3/3/17)
- Square Enix: Dragon Quest Heroes 1+2 and I Am Setsuna (3/3/17)
- Konami: Super Bomberman R (3/3/17)
- Sega: Puyo Puyo Tetris (3/3/17)
- Nippon Ichi Software: Disgaea 5 Complete (3/3/17)
- Nicalis: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ (3/17/17)
- Koei Tecmo: Romance of the the Three Kingdoms XIII (3/30/17)
- Warner Bros. Interactive: Lego City Undercover (4/4/17)
- Capcom: Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers (5/26/17)
- Marvelous / XSEED: Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star (7/20/17)
- Bandai Namco: One Piece: Unlimited World RED (8/24/17)
- 2K Games / Take-Two Interactive: NBA 2K18 (9/15/17)
- EA: FIFA 18 (9/29/17)
- Bethesda: DOOM (11/10/17)
- Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive: L.A. Noire (11/14/17)
- Xbox Game Studios: Minecraft (6/21/18)
- Nihon Falcom: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA (6/28/18)*
- Blizzard: Diablo III: Eternal Collection (11/2/18)
*This one released earlier in the US on 6/26/18 under NIS America, whose first published retail game on Switch was Disgaea 5 Complete on 5/23/17.
Personally, I expect most major Japanese publishers to bring bigger games to the platform earlier. In particular, I expect Square Enix, Sega, and Capcom to show increased AA or AAA support within the first few months. I think Capcom's early Street Fighter II re-release on Switch provides the biggest potential for a gen-on-gen jump in profile with their first Switch 2 retail release.
I'm interested in seeing how EA and Take-Two Interactive's support changes, though it may stick to annual franchises at the time of their typical annual release. If Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is coming this holiday, could we see something Dragon Age or perhaps Mass Effect Legendary Edition early in the Switch 2's life?
Circumstances have obviously changed for Activision, Blizzard, and Bethesda, so I wonder what the first games (if any) will be from those publishers. Could we see a late release of the latest Call of Duty at launch? Without knowing the launch date of the console or what many publishers have planned for the rest of this year and early 2025, I know it's hard to say anything for sure. For example, will there be a new DOOM game to port? I also wonder what the first Xbox Game Studios game to get released will be and when. Could Sea of Thieves arrive on Switch 2 within the launch window?
I'd love to read any thoughts!