As gamers await Nintendo's next game console, expected to be unveiled sometime by April of 2025, a set of images purporting to show a prototype is making the rounds online.
The portable console, the successor to Nintendo's popular Switch, has yet to be announced. But if the leaked renders are the real deal, they show that the so-called Switch 2 will be very similar in design to the original, with some tweaks to the Joy-Con controllers and an additional USB-C port on the top of the system.
The games website VGC says it confirmed that the renderings, which it says originated on a Chinese social media site and ended up on Reddit, are in line with what someone who's been briefed by Nintendo had been told about the console's design.
Nintendo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 12 renderings show a console with a larger, 8-inch screen, compared with the original Switch's 6.2-inch screen and the OLED Switch's 7-inch screen. They also show a different placement for LEDs on the Joy-Con controllers (which would attach magnetically to the console), and USB-C ports on the top and bottom of the system.
The new console is expected to have a significantly higher amount of RAM and more internal storage for games. It's unclear yet if it'll be introduced with an OLED screen, like the upgraded Switch version introduced in 2022, or if the base model will use an LCD display.
Hours after the renderings appeared on Reddit, debate arose about whether the images may have come from a 3D modeling enthusiast who had access to a mock-up of the console from an accessory manufacturer.