If you tuned into Nintendo’s Partner Showcase this morning, you got a reminder: the Switch 2 is no longer just a first‑party playground. Big, familiar franchises and unexpected exclusives flooded the stream — everything from Bethesda blockbusters to indie co‑op puzzlers — and a lot of them have concrete dates.
Nintendo framed the presentation as a third‑party spotlight, and developers answered in force. You can watch the full show on Nintendo Direct if you missed it, but here’s the compact tour of what stood out and why it matters.
Headliners you’ll notice on your wishlist
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — May 12 (Switch 2): Indiana Jones swings onto Switch 2 in a story set in 1937. Expect whip‑and‑wits exploration across globe‑trotting locales.
- Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition — Feb. 24 (digital on Switch 2), physical April 28: The decade‑old open‑world staple arrives with add‑ons and Creation Club content in tow.
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — 2026 (Switch 2): A ground‑up remaster of the 2006 classic, with expansions included.
- FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH — June 3 (Switch 2): The sprawling second entry in the remake trilogy locks into a summer release for Switch 2 owners.
- Resident Evil Requiem — Feb. 27 (Switch 2): Capcom’s latest survival horror ships alongside ports of RE7 and Village the same day, and Nintendo announced a Requiem Pro Controller and new amiibo for Leon and Grace.
- Orbitals (Switch 2 exclusive) — summer 2026: A retro anime‑inspired two‑player co‑op puzzle platformer made for asymmetric teamwork.
- Tokyo Scramble — Feb. 11 (Switch 2 exclusive): A subterranean survival‑puzzle action game with co‑op GameShare features.
- PRAGMATA — April 24 (Switch 2): Capcom’s sci‑fi action with a playable demo hitting eShop shortly after the showcase.
- Hollow Knight — Switch 2 Edition — available today: Enhanced visuals, higher frame rates, and a free upgrade path for existing owners with the upgrade pack.
- Valheim, Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok, Digimon Story Time Stranger and Monster Hunter Stories 3 all landed windows for 2026, giving Switch 2 owners a hefty slate of genres to pick from.
Those big names anchor the show, but Nintendo also sprinkled in smaller surprises.
Ports, exclusive curiosities, and indie highlights
A few highlights that caught the eye because they balance nostalgia and novelty:
There were also retro collections (Super Bomberman Collection, Console/Arcade Archives entries) and smaller, niche releases like PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse (Feb. 19) and The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (June 18).
Why this slate matters
Two quick truths help explain the tone of this showcase. First: Nintendo’s hardware momentum has been stronger than many expected, and that success gives third parties more incentive to bring big titles to the handheld. That commercial uptick is part of the reason publishers are treating Switch 2 as a proper platform — reflected in both ports and Switch 2‑exclusive projects like Orbitals. (Nintendo’s recent sales trajectory is worth a look: Nintendo's stronger-than-expected hardware momentum (/news/nintendo-switch-2-sales-surge).)
Second: Nintendo is leaning into a wider release cadence for Switch 2, which feels less like a platform of isolated hits and more like a full ecosystem. The Partner Showcase reinforces a broader release schedule that’s filling 2026 with major windows and genre variety. For context on how Nintendo is pacing its launches, see this overview of the company's release plan (/news/nintendo-switch-2-games-release-plan).
Bethesda’s presence — Fallout 4 Anniversary, Oblivion Remastered, and Indiana Jones — is particularly notable. Todd Howard’s team emphasized that bringing long‑running franchises to Nintendo hardware is part of a multiplatform play that benefits from the Switch 2’s improved capabilities. In practice, that means huge open worlds and deep RPGs are now viable on the portable.
What it might mean for players
If you own a Switch 2, the coming months look busy: survival horror in February, action blockbusters in spring, and sprawling RPGs through summer and beyond. If you were on the fence about upgrading, the Partner Showcase gives a clearer picture of the library you’d be joining — a mix of remasters, brand‑new exclusives, and mainstream multiplatform releases.
There’s also a consumer‑friendly touch: free or discounted upgrade paths (like Hollow Knight’s Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack) and demos (Pragmata, Monster Hunter Stories 3) that let players sample before committing.
The Partner Showcase didn’t just unload dates and trailers; it signaled a turning point. Switch 2 is actively courting third parties and broadening what the platform can be — a portable that also handles the kind of sights and systems once reserved for home consoles. That shift won’t change overnight, but today’s announcements make 2026 look like the year Switch 2 steps fully into that role.