Nintendo still believes the Switch has plenty of life left even amid steeply declining sales and the console nearing its eight-year anniversary.

The Switch, which launched in March 2017, sold 15.7 million units during the last financial year ending March 31, 2024, a decline of 12.6% on the previous year. However, Nintendo enjoyed 123 million ‘annual playing users’ during the period, the highest figure ever since Switch launched.

For the current financial year ending March 2025, Nintendo forecast 13.5 million Switch sales, which would be a 14% decline on the previous year. The Switch is now up to 141.32 million units sold as of March 31, 2024. Add another 13.5 million on top and you get 154.82 million. If the Switch continues to sell well even after its successor launches, reportedly spring 2025, it may end up as the best-selling console of all-time, ahead of the PS2’s eye-watering 160 million sold.

On this financial year, it’s worth digging into how Nintendo will achieve its aggressive 13.5 million sales figure. In its fiscal report, the company offered a vague statement, similar to those it has issued in the past: “Nintendo Switch has entered its eighth year since launch, and while it will be challenging to sustain the same sales momentum as before, we will work to maintain high user engagement with the hardware and invigorate the platform so that more consumers continue to play Nintendo Switch for longer.”

Nintendo has just announced a Nintendo Direct for June, during which fans will get a better idea of the games to expect during the console’s twilight years. But to achieve such a high number of sales during a console’s eighth year, Nintendo may have significant unannounced games up its sleeve, or may be preparing a long-awaited price cut.

Meanwhile, Nintendo announced updates sales figures for many of its Switch games. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now up to 20.61 million sold, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is on 13.44 million, the eternally popular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold another 8.18 million during the year, and Nintendo Switch Sports shifted another 3.51 million units. Pikmin 4 has sold 3.48 million, and Super Mario RPG has sold 3.31 million. Princess Peach: Showtime!, which launched in March, hit 1.22 million, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, which released in February, is on 1.12 million sold.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Alan Wake and Control developer Remedy Entertainment has cancelled its mysterious multiplayer project Kestrel to focus on already established franchises.

Kestrel was “a premium game with a strong cooperative multiplayer component” in development with Chinese publisher Tencent. Remedy said its other projects — which include remakes of Max Payne 1 and 2, Control 2, and a multiplayer spin-off from Control called Condor — are progressing well and the resources going into Kestrel could therefore be better spent on those.

“Codename Kestrel showed early promise but the project was still in its early concept stage,” said Remedy CEO Tero Virtala. “Our other projects have advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development, and increasing focus on them provides us with benefits.

“We can reallocate talented Kestrel developers to these other game projects, and many of our support functions get additional focus on their operations. This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well. I want to thank our Kestrel development team. Though we decided to discontinue the project for wider Remedy benefits, our team has done good work and provided us with valuable learnings.”

Kestrel had previously shown signs of development trouble as Remedy announced a “reboot” in November 2023, changing it from a free-to-play game to a full, premium project. Kestrel would “lean more into Remedy’s core strengths and be built on many of the features, assets, and themes already designed for Vanguard,” Remedy said at the time.

Condor will now be the only multiplayer game in development at the studio, with this one set to be a four-player, cooperative, “player versus environment” game. Little else has been said about the project, but it will seemingly get a development boost from the employees leaving the cancelled Kestrel behind.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo has said it will finally announce its Switch successor console “within this fiscal year”, so at some point before March 31, 2025.

In a statement published to X / Twitter, Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo, confirmed the new console as Nintendo published its financial report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. Furukawa also confirmed a Nintendo Direct for this June, but said there will be no mention of the Switch successor during that presentation. Instead, it will focus on Switch games for the latter half of 2024.

The wording suggests fans will have to wait until at least July for a first glimpse at Nintendo’s next-gen console, dubbed Switch 2 by many. Here’s Furukawa’s statement in full:

“This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation.”

In February, reports indicated the Switch 2 was delayed until the early months of 2025. As reported by Bloomberg, VGC, and Eurogamer, sources claimed Nintendo had told publishers the Switch 2 was originally planned to be released at the end of 2024 but was now expected to slip to “March 2025 at the earliest.”

Recent alleged details on the power of the Switch 2 weren’t the first rumors to spread about Nintendo’s new console. Other allegedly leaked details have suggested that the device will feature magnetic versions of the Joy-Cons and maybe even let players use their old controllers, too. If these recent rumors are to be believed, you’ll also be able to enjoy your physical and digital games on the Switch 2.

For more on what may eventually become the Switch 2, you can read everything else we know about the company’s next console.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Manor Lords launched for PC players late last month, and it only took about a week for modders to add Shrek as a playable character.

The animated ogre icon can now be used to terrorize innocent medieval citizens thanks to developer NorskPL on Nexus Mods. It’s a simple mod that allows players to control Shrek as part of Manor Lords’ third-person Visit mode. Parading around town as the green menace might be a bit immersion-breaking, but there is no denying that the character fits into the setting extremely well.

This is what happens when you don’t get out of my swamp pic.twitter.com/uDALYp2ruL

— One Proud Bavarian (@ProudBavaria) May 5, 2024

Manor Lords was one of Steam’s most Wishlisted titles for quite some time, so while developer Slavic Magic hasn’t officially added mod support, it isn’t much of a surprise to see players creating new content on their own. Of course, that also means Shrek is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to some of the project’s currently available mods.

Some highlights allow players to control a Knight or even Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s Henry. Others push things a bit further, like the mod that adds The Witcher’s Geralt as a playable character. Most modifications, however, focus on gameplay tweaks for those who may want to alter the experience. There are also already a wide selection of custom Coat of Arms mods for Halo, Fallout, Berserk, Harry Potter, and more.

One mod in particular allows players to experience Manor Lords in VR. It’s a custom gameplay change so impressive that even developer Slavic Magic couldn’t help but praise it.

With or without Shrek, we think Manor Lords is a good time. In our 7/10 early access review, we said, “Manor Lords is a gorgeous medieval city-builder that kept me occupied for hours building my perfect, cozy hamlets, but it definitely feels very early in its Early Access development.”

Image credit: NorskPL

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

With the PSN account linking fiasco now in the rearview mirror, what was nearly a disaster moment for Helldivers 2 is now becoming a part of community lore. Fans have been busy working on cape designs since Sony reversed course, at least some of which have seemingly caught the eye of the development team.

The movement began after Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt noted an “accidental cape design” from a member on Discord — four red lines denoting Helldivers 2’s plummeting reviews over the weekend.

Also, the accidental cape design is pretty cool. From a community member. pic.twitter.com/7LQZA6Rekw

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 6, 2024

Another community member soon responded to Pilestedt’s post with a more refined design, leading to other fans coming forward with ideas of their own.

Or this… pic.twitter.com/qd4Gm5mzSm

— 13 Ghosts of RAGS (@RAGS_Comix) May 6, 2024

Since then, designs have rapidly proliferated. Over on Reddit, one Helldivers 2 fan made a full-blown concept they refer to as “The Prodigal Son.” The cape contains a visual reference to Helldivers 2’s Steam reviews and a description that reads, “The cape’s cropped length symbolizes the brevity of galactic conflicts, thanks to the efficiency of the Helldivers.”