The Most-Anticipated Nintendo Switch Games Of 2023 And Beyond

The Nintendo Switch had a great year in 2022, and it doesn't appear to be slowing down in the foreseeable future. The past 12 months alone gave us Bayonetta 3, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, both Pokemon Arceus and Scarlet/Violet, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and more.

Nintendo is playing its cards close to the vest for 2023, but we already know of a few games on the horizon. Those include The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the long-awaited follow-up to Breath of the Wild, along with Fire Emblem Engage and (hopefully!) Advance Wars. Looking further ahead, there's games like Metroid Prime 4 and Pikmin 4, which have not set release dates yet.

The Switch is starting to enter what would usually be a console's twilight years, as 2023 will be its sixth year on the market. Persistent rumors have suggested that Nintendo is planning a new "Pro" edition that will help it keep pace with more powerful competitors, but so far that hasn't come to fruition. Right now, there is no indication from Nintendo that a new model is on the horizon, or if the company is preparing a successor.

You can check below for the full list of big coming to the Switch in 2023 and beyond. If you just can't wait to get your hands on some great Switch games, though, read our roundups of the best Switch games and best Switch games for kids. Also make sure to read our best Switch exclusives of 2022.

Fire Emblem continues to be one of Nintendo's biggest and most prolific franchises in recent years, and the Nintendo Switch is getting a brand-new mainline entry with Fire Emblem Engage. Set 1,000 years after four kingdoms sealed away the powerful Fell Dragon, Fire Emblem Engage sees that creature returning, and it's up to the humanoid Divine Dragon to save the world. This hero won't be able to do so alone, however, as past Fire Emblem characters like Marth will be available via summons and the tag-team "Engage" system to inherit their weapons and deal devastating attacks. It looks to be a classic turn-based tactical Fire Emblem experience that should be perfect for both new and old players.

Fire Emblem Engage releases for Nintendo Switch on January 20, 2023.

For fans of adventuring with a dreamy twist, try to keep your eyes open for Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends. A unique journey through Slumberland, you'll have four characters to guide--brave Nemo, the magic-wielding Princess, the mischievous clown Flip, and the agile royal guard Peony--as you explore a world based on Winsor McCay's landmark 1905 comic strip. The dreamscape is surreal, the waking world hides secrets of its own, and each character will bring a unique way to play the game thanks to their inherent traits and skills. With a soundtrack by Wayne Strange, Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends is shaping up to be an enticing all-nighter of a game.

A lovely game rendered entirely in a black-and-white pencil sketched style, Blanc tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a wolf cub and a fawn. The game can be played in single-player but it's built for co-op as you explore the quest to find safety in an isolated, snowy wilderness. The story is wordless, so it's meant to be enjoyed by players of any age or skill level. It's coming in February 2023.

This noir-action game has a creative title that tells you exactly what it is. You're armed with a Gunbrella, a firearm that also serves as an umbrella, as you take down cultists, gangsters, and other threats on your quest for revenge. It's the follow-up to the indie hit Gato Roboto for developer Doinksoft and marks another interesting-looking indie game being published by Devolver Digital. It's coming in 2023.

The Advance Wars series brought some of the best tactical gameplay of the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS era. Now we get to revisit it with a fresh new look in the form of Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp, a Nintendo Switch remake of the first two games. Featuring turn-based gameplay on a grid, the Advance Wars games see you assume the role of one of various Commanding Officers directing troops to victory, with each military group capable of using game-changing special abilities, such as unit repairs or power boosts. Developer WayForward (Shantae, River City Girls) has got the job with the remake, breathing new life into the series that will now feature online multiplayer in addition to the campaigns and local play included in the original release.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp had been scheduled for December 2021, but was delayed to April 2022 for fine-tuning. Its new date had been set for April 8, but Nintendo indefinitely delayed the remake again due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. There's still no word on when it will arrive.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp was scheduled to release on April 8, but Nintendo indefinitely delayed the remake due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. There's still no word on when it will arrive.

What is it about trains that make them the perfect vehicles for murder most foul? You'll have to discover the answer to that question yourself, as Loco Motive puts you in the gumshoes of a rookie detective, lawyer, and an undercover spy as they race to prove their innocence before the real killer strikes again. While the setup is grim, the rest of the game plays out like a slapstick whodunnit as you interact with fellow passengers. Loco Motive has a delightful pixel art aesthetic, a moody soundtrack by Space Haven's Paul Zimmerman, and plenty of puzzles that'll likely leave you scratching your head.

The gaming calendar is usually full of intense action games, but for a change of pace, make friends with a talking onion in this relaxing gardening game. The Garden Path doesn't just sound like a cathartic reason to sit back and tend to a patch of ground that needs a green thumb touch; it's also a slice-of-life simulator that looks fantastic with its painterly aesthetic.

A very funky expression of personal style, graffiti, and crisp cel-shaded visuals, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is shaping up to be the Jet Set Radio spiritual successor that fans have been waiting for. It's all about increasing your rep in every neighborhood, tagging walls with a can of spray-paint, and challenging other crews for local supremacy in a tricky showdown. Beyond that urban jungle appeal, expect to master your tricks of the trade with environments that are just begging for you to perform grinding, sliding, wall-running, and air maneuvers.

Another narrative-driven and social simulation adventure game for the pile, Mineko's Night Market is also a celebration of Japanese culture and a story about friendship. Intertwined with themes of tradition--and a whole lot of cats--you'll guide Mineko as she solves puzzles, takes part in market games, and sneaks past government agents with the use of clever disguises. Boasting hours of exploration through its many environments and four seasons to experience, don't be too surprised to find yourself engaging in some wheeling and dealing with locals to help progress the story.

An action-packed platformer that's focused on both exploration and combat, you'll play as a young Runist named Illyia of Moonstone who is on a journey to find her missing twin sister and a way home. There's plenty of danger along the path though, but Illyia quickly picks up some sharp sword skills and powerful runic magic that'll help her survive in a hostile land.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not only one of the greatest Zelda games ever, but one of the greatest video games of all time. How do you follow something like that up? We'll have to wait for the sequel's launch to know for sure, but that game--titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom--is going to be here sooner rather than later. The game's release date and title-reveal trailer showed that we'll be heading into the skies for some of Link's adventure, with enormous boulders soaring up against gravity and a giant glider providing a lighter path down to Hyrule's surface. The game is still explicitly referred to as a sequel by Nintendo, so just what that means for the eternal struggle between Link and Ganon remains to be seen.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches for Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023. In the meantime, read up oneverything we know about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

From small indie team Sidebar Games, Sports Story is the follow-up to charming RPG-sport hybrid Golf Story, with the addition of several more sports, including tennis and soccer. Similar to the Mario Golf and Mario Tennis games on Game Boy Color, Golf Story combined satisfying sports gameplay with RPG elements, such as leveling up stats and acquiring better equipment, alongside a humorous story where every problem could be solved by hitting a golf ball at it. Sports Story was initially slated for a 2020 release but was delayed indefinitely due to its increasing development scope. At this point, we're not sure when Sports Story is going to bounce onto Nintendo Switch.

Star Wars: Hunters is a team-based action game that may primarily be thought of as an iOS and Android game, but it's also coming to Nintendo Switch. Hunters features 4v4 combat in maps based on iconic locales from the Star Wars universe. There will be a ton of playable characters, including Jedi, Stormtroopers, Mandalorian, and more.

Metal Slug has long been one of the best run-and-gun action game franchises out there, but for a change of pace, the series is swapping its blitzkrieg design for a more measured tactical-RPG format. A combination of gorgeous pixel art and fluid animation, Metal Slug Tactics features series powerhouses Marco, Eri, Fio, and Tarma and their over-the-top arsenal in an isometric tactics format that looks fun, clever, and explosive ahead of its eventual release.

Mojang has been branching out with the Minecraft brand recently, and Minecraft Legends will mark another new take on the popular block-building franchise. This time it's a third-person action-strategy game, where you control a heroic unit leading your mobs of farm animals and other Minecraft mainstays into battle, and fortifying your defenses with the familiar building tools. The story revolves around the Nether, the corrupt dark side of the Minecraft universe. It's said to include both cooperative and competitive multiplayer, and it's scheduled to release in the first half of 2023.

Metroid Prime 4 has been in development for many years at this point, and development even restarted in 2019 when Retro Studios took over. There's still no word on a release window, and no one really knows how far along in development it actually is. That said, with Retro Studios at the helm and the sheer brilliance of the trilogy before it, we imagine Metroid Prime 4 will be worth the wait... however long that winds up being.

In the meantime, you can check out (or replay) Metroid Dread, which brought side-scrolling Metroid back in style last year. Based on a recent report from Jeff Grubb of GameSpot sister site Giant Bomb, you might be able to return to the Prime series earlier than expected, though, in Metroid Prime Remastered. Metroid Prime Remastered, according to the report, is coming to Switch.

Yacht Club Games has made several follow-ups to its breakout hit Shovel Knight, but Mina the Hollower marks a totally new franchise for the indie studio. The game is said to be modeled after Game Boy classics like Link's Awakening, and the studio opened up its development process early with regular streams and blog posts showcasing concept art and design concepts. It's coming thanks to its successful Kickstarter campaign, but no release date has been set.

Shigeru Miyamoto does what he wants. He has earned that right, and what he wants to do is make a new Pikmin game. Confirmed for Nintendo Switch, Pikmin 4 is the next adventure featuring the adorable helpful critters, and the Switch's control scheme means gameplay will be more intuitive. According to Miyamoto, this will allow you to spend more time focusing on strategic gameplay decisions and less on just placing your Pikmin in particular locations. Additionally, there will be a new perspective that is closer to the Pikmins' own height, though it's unclear if this will be one option or the new standard.

Pikmin 4 hits Nintendo Switch in 2023.