Nintendo says Switch 2 will keep blending new games and classic remakes
Published 5 Nov 2026 · Games Atlas Editorial · Operational Strategy Shift · Companies: Nintendo
Games Atlas summary: Nate Bihldorff, Nintendo SVP of product development and publishing, spoke at the Ocarina of Time remake launch. He said new games and remakes hold equal importance in Nintendo's software strategy. Ocarina of Time is the Switch 2's tentpole 2026 game and its second major remake that year. The portfolio pairs niche, smaller-IP releases with high-profile remakes positioned as safer bets. "I do think that new games and remakes both have a place in the Nintendo stable, of equal importance to be honest" - Nate Bihldorff, SVP of Product Development and Publishing, Nintendo
How to cite this page
Games Atlas — Games Industry Intelligence (2026). Nintendo says Switch 2 will keep blending new games and classic remakes. Published 5 Nov 2026. https://gamesatlas.app/article/nintendo-says-switch-2-will-keep-blending-new-games-and-classic-remakes
Remakes now carry tentpole status
- Ocarina of Time anchors Nintendo's 2026 holiday slate.
- It follows June's Star Fox remake.
- Kirby Air Riders in 2025 also revisited GameCube's Kirby Air Ride.
- Three legacy-IP returns in two years point to a deliberate pattern.
- Bihldorff frames the remake as new content for players who never played the original.
- "For them, the remake of Ocarina of Time is going to be an absolutely brand-new, 2026 experience" - Nate Bihldorff, SVP, Nintendo
IP rotation sustains release cadence
- Bihldorff credits Nintendo's broad IP catalogue for a predictable flow of releases.
- Nintendo held back its system-selling announcement through the Switch 2's first year.
- That first year leaned on eclectic titles like Kirby Air Riders and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
- "You can pretty much set your watch by the idea that we're going to be coming out with stuff" - Nate Bihldorff, SVP, Nintendo
- For publishers, a deep IP bench lets launch windows run without front-loading tentpoles.
Hardware gains justify remaking existing designs
- Zelda producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi said Switch 2 enables design ideas mid-1990s technology could not support.
- This lets Nintendo rebuild proven designs instead of only porting them.
- "We're able to leverage all of the capabilities and try to do things that we weren't able to do with Ocarina of Time" - Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Producer, The Legend of Zelda
Where the safe-bet claim breaks down
- Ocarina of Time is widely called the greatest game ever made.
- High fan expectations make a remake of it creatively risky.
- Bihldorff says developer enthusiasm outweighed fear of mishandling the remake.
- He offered no sales, budget or margin data to support remakes as lower-risk capital.
- Niche bets like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream reportedly became financial winners for Switch 2.
- This suggests original-IP risk is also paying off alongside remakes.
What this means
- For Publishers & Developers: Slot third-party Switch 2 releases outside first-party legacy-IP holiday windows to avoid direct collision.
- For Investors & VC: Add dormant-catalogue rebuild potential to diligence when valuing console-focused studios and IP holders.
- For Service Vendors: Pitch full-rebuild art, animation and design services to publishers sitting on 1990s-era franchises.