Developers say the Nintendo Switch Pro was go – and then Nintendo said no

As much as we love the Nintendo Switch (pictured), it's starting to show its age: upgrading to the Switch OLED delivered nicer visuals but the underlying hardware is getting on a bit. That means lots of gamers have been hoping for a Nintendo Switch Pro, but a new report from Digital Foundry says that while Nintendo started working on it they ultimately decided not to go ahead.

The report is based on conversations with multiple unnamed developers, who told the presenters that Nintendo had intended to make a Pro version of the Switch as a mid-life upgrade. It wasn't going to replace the Switch; instead it would sit higher up the range, much as the PS4 Pro did compared to the PS4.

It didn't happen, and it isn't going to. Nintendo's plans for the Switch have changed.

Switch Pro: no; Switch 2: woo!

According to the unnamed developers, Nintendo has switched focus – no pun intended – to a second generation Switch instead. This will be a full replacement for the current console rather than a mid-life spec bump, and that means we won't see it any time soon: according to Digital Foundry it definitely isn't on the cards for 2023.

Nintendo is clearly treading carefully here, because while the Switch has been a massive and well-deserved hit its predecessor, the Wii U, was a commercial failure. That was partly because it went up against the Xbox One and PS4 instead of carving out its own unique identity. 

Cancelling the Pro in favour of a brand new and presumably significantly improved Switch suggests that Nintendo has decided that for the next Switch, it needs to go big or go home.