It's finally happened — Nintendo has just officially unveiled the Switch 2, after years of speculation, rumors, and leaks. In a video titled "An update from Nintendo" (which has since been renamed to be more accurate), the company has shared the first official look at the upcoming hardware, confirming many of the rumors that surfaced over the past few weeks.

While the trailer focuses exclusively on the hardware itself, there was a small teaser in the video showing an untitled Mario Kart game, as well as more information on backwards compatibility.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is coming later this year

The trailer posted by Nintendo, which you can see above, has a very slick presentation and goes over all the major changes in the new hardware. It showcases the larger screen and Joy-con, the new magnetic attachment and the redesigned rail for connecting the controllers, a new color scheme, two USB-C ports, a redesigned kickstand, and more. This essentially confirms all the rumors that have been swirling around in recent weeks.

One particularly notable rumor that was seemingly confirmed in this video was what appears to be the ability to use either Joy-con controller as a mouse. Not only does the video show the optical sensor on the controllers, but you can also see them sliding on their side along a surface, and there's even a glimpse at the dedicated attachment that will apparently provide better balance and the ability to glide more easily when holding the controllers in this style. However, no actual functionality was shown.

Mario Kart is coming

While the trailer didn't show almost any games, Nintendo did give us a glimpse at the next generation of Mario Kart running on the system. The trailer showcased a few racers on a track that hasn't been featured in previous titles in the series, showing what appears to be a much larger scale for the tracks. Unfortunately, the game wasn't given a title, nor a lot of time to shine.

However, Nintendo did also share some more details about the backwards compatibility of the Switch 2. The company has clarified that the new console will be able to play both physical and digital games from the current Switch, though the company warns that some games may not be fully compatible or supported on the Switch 2. A likely example of this may be the games using Nintendo Labo kits, which are designed around the specific size of the existing hardware. Nintendo will share more details at a later date.

More info coming in April

If you want to know more about the games coming to Switch 2, you'll have to wait a little longer. Along with the trailer, Nintendo announced that a Direct presentation will air on April 2nd, exclusively showcasing games for the platform. Shortly after that, there will also be hands-on events around the world, which should mean an official release may not be too far off. Earlier reports had suggested a launch in June.

That being said, we don't actually know when that release will be. All Nintendo shared in this early trailer is that it will launch this year, but we're missing a more specific time frame. We'll just have to wait for more details on that, as well as the price of the console.