Dev Kits for Nintendo Switch 2 are finally here and third-party games are coming

The dev kit drought that plagued Nintendo Switch 2’s early months is officially over, and that’s massive news for anyone waiting on third-party announcements.

For months after Nintendo Switch 2 hit stores on June 5, 2025, the conversation around the console kept circling back to one frustrating bottleneck: development kits. Studios wanted in, players wanted more games, but the hardware simply wasn’t reaching enough developers fast enough. That limited what could launch alongside the system and slowed down the third-party momentum everyone expected from a console this capable.

According to insider NateTheHate, that problem is now solved. Development kits for Nintendo Switch 2 are finally reaching studios at the pace they should’ve from the start. External developers who requested access either have their kits already or should be getting them any day now. That shift changes everything for ports, simultaneous releases, and original projects tailored for the platform.

Call of Duty’s delay finally makes sense

NateTheHate specifically addressed the elephant in the room: Call of Duty on Nintendo Switch 2. The franchise has been one of the most requested by fans, yet it was nowhere near the console’s launch window. Turns out, Activision’s dev kit arrived late enough to throw off their timeline completely. It wasn’t about lack of interest or technical limitations—it was purely a logistics issue tied to kit availability.

Now that access has normalized, annual franchises like Call of Duty can actually plan full development cycles around Nintendo Switch 2. That’s huge for Western AAA games that rarely made it to the original Switch in any meaningful way.

Nintendo Switch 2 dev kits now widely available, third-party support set to explode

What this means moving forward

With dev kits flowing freely, Nintendo Switch 2’s library is about to get a serious boost. The console already proved it can handle demanding titles, but developers needed the tools to make it happen. Now they’ve got them, and the floodgates are open for ambitious ports and day-one releases that match other platforms.

Expect 2026 to deliver a steadier stream of third-party announcements. Simultaneous launches with PlayStation and Xbox? Actually possible now. Western AAA support that doesn’t arrive two years late or heavily compromised? Finally within reach. The hardware was never the issue—it was always about getting it into the right hands at the right time.

That obstacle’s gone. The conversation around third-party support on Nintendo Switch 2 is about to shift completely, and it’s been a long time coming.

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