Nintendo shadow-drops hotly demanded Switch 2 Edition upgrade

A new Switch 2 Edition game has just been announced, available as a full game or an inexpensive upgrade from the Switch 1.

There have been two Nintendo Directs this year so far, but neither had any updates on Nintendo’s actual video game plans for 2026. The first was just a trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the second was only for Tomodachi Life: Living The Dreamm and the third covered third party games from other studios like Bethesda.

A first party showcase is sure to drop sooner rather than later, but if there’s one thing that won’t be unveiled during it, it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 port of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.

That’s because it was just unveiled out of nowhere earlier today and is available for purchase right now, albeit only digitally.

This isn’t one of those simple free updates either, but a full-on upgrade, which means even if you already own the Switch 1 version, you need to pay for it.

The upgrade costs £4.19, making it one of the cheaper upgrade packs alongside Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Switch 2 version, which launched last month.

If you don’t own the original game, it’s also available as a separate digital purchase of £54.99, with a physical version releasing on April 16. However, it doesn’t appear to include any new content.

Both Nintendo’s announcement and its eShop listing only mention improved resolutions up to 4K in TV mode and improved performance upwards of 60 frames per second.

This is likely why the price for upgrading isn’t as high as other Switch 2 upgrade packs, like the ones for Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby And The Forgotten Land.

On one hand, this news isn’t super surprising as fans already suspected that Xenoblade Chronicles X would see a Switch 2 port as early as last March, after a hidden 60fps mode was found in the game’s executable file.

That said, it is a bit strange that Nintendo would just announce and release it with zero build-up, but the game’s Switch 1 version was also randomly revealed with a surprise trailer, so Nintendo is being consistent.

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What is definitely odd is that Nintendo would prioritise a Switch 2 port of the Xenoblade spin-off rather than any of the mainline numbered games. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 did receive a free update (which made ‘several adjustments’ to the gameplay), but none of them have dedicated Switch 2 upgrades that boost their performance.

It’s unclear if Nintendo plans on further Xenoblade upgrades, although some fans believe developer Monolith Soft teased one for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 via social media last year.

Speaking of Xenoblade, earlier this month the fanbase went into a tizzy when it was alleged that voice actress Caitlin Thorburn, who voiced the character KOS-MOS in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, had updated her profile on casting website Spotlight to mention she had reprised the role for a Xenoblade Chronicles game out in 2026.

A screenshot of this was shared to Famiboards and quickly spread among the Xenoblade community, sparking theories of either a brand new game or a Switch 2 re-release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It doesn’t have anything to do with Xenoblade Chronicles X, though, since KOS-MOS doesn’t appear in that game and nor does Thorburn provide any voicework.

Assuming another Xenoblade game is being planned for 2026, it might be revealed in the next Nintendo Direct, which is likely to take place in March or April.

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