Nintendo Switch Pro Reportedly Releasing In 2022?

Following the announcement of the Nintendo Switch OLED last week, which disappointed a lot of fans, rumors now suggest that the supposed Switch Pro, which is anticipated to feature 4K gaming is still on the cards for a 2022 release.

Venture Beat journalist Jeff Grubb recently shared on Twitter that the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro could release as early as next year. The video games journalist and industry insider also claimed that the Switch OLED model is not the Switch Pro and might not be the last Switch console because the Japanese gaming giant is known as the king of revisions.

Grubb said, "I still have only ever personally heard 2022 for a Switch Pro. And if that still happens, I'll continue to speculate that will have 4K output with a significantly more efficient chip with DLSS." He added, "Anyone thinks this is the last Switch from the company that released six 3DS models?"

Earlier rumors about the upgraded Switch model with a 7-inch OLED screen that persisted for over a year have been proved accurate by the launch of the Switch OLED model. However, that version, scheduled to release this October, is nowhere near the 4K-focused improvement Bloomberg and other mainstream outlets reported earlier. In a recent report, Inverse shared what some industry analysts think about the recent move of Nintendo and the possibility of another Switch console releasing.

Omdia Senior Analyst of Marketing and Games Matthew Bailey said, "There never was a compelling business case for Nintendo to launch the ‘pro’ device most people were expecting." He added, "It makes sense for Nintendo to release a minor, fully backward compatible upgrade to the existing Switch hardware."

Bailey said, “The new OLED model fulfills this brief and is in line with what Omdia was expecting" The senior analyst believes "it’s more likely that the upgrades designed to increase performance and graphical fidelity will be part of Nintendo’s next-generation console." Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto shared that "Judging from how Nintendo management has been communicating, they are dead set on prolonging the lifecycle of the Switch as much as possible."

He believes "we will see a stronger upgrade than this one along the line before Nintendo releases an all-new console." Unlike Grubb, both Toto and Bailey believe that the new Switch console is still several years away. Bailey projected that "given the Q4 2021 release date for the OLED Switch, it’s unlikely that any next-generation console or significant upgrade to the Switch would come before 2023."

Meanwhile, Toto thinks that the new Switch console would be totally independent of the hybrid console and could be "several years" away from its launch. Nintendo has not said anything about the supposed Switch Pro. However, it announced recently that the Switch OLED model will be available on Oct. 8 at a suggested retail price of $349.99.