GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.
Between the launch of a new console and multiple first-party releases, 2025 was a pretty big year for Nintendo. The Switch 2 got off to a roaring start, but the original Switch family of consoles wasn’t forgotten about this year, as Nintendo ensured several of its biggest releases were also playable on it. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A were playable on the older hardware, while other legacy games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were upgraded for the Switch 2.
Between those new releases and expanded versions of old favorites, we also saw third-party games launch for the Switch 2. Developers like Ubisoft and CD Projekt Red delivered high-quality versions of Star Wars Outlaws and Cyberpunk 2077 to the hybrid console, while indie studios focused on gameplay over raw visual horsepower to stand out from the pack. More of a transitional year than a revolutionary one when compared to the launch of Nintendo consoles like the Wii, Wii U, and the original Switch, 2025 saw the company play it safe as it built on the successes of the previous console generation.
To see which of the hundreds of Switch and Switch 2 games made it to the top, you can check the list below. Our sister site Metacritic has crunched all the numbers below, and the final list at the time of writing is an impressively varied selection of games. For more of these features, you can check out our galleries focused on the best RPGs, co-op games, and shooters of the year. We also have our own curated list of the best Switch-exclusive games of 2025, as well as the best Switch and Switch 2 games to play right now.
More Best Of 2025:
