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In This Edition
- Switch 2’s Christmas performance
- A new publisher emerges
- Nex Playground plots global roll-out
- Keza MacDonald joins the Show
Hello, hello! Welcome to our first news and analysis Show of the year. Did you have a lovely break? You’re looking well rested.
We were delighted when Switch 2 released and flew off shelves, but every analyst stressed that the real test for Nintendo was going to be Christmas. The fans were in, but would it appeal to the more mainstream festive shopper?
Well, let’s just say that Nintendo could probably do with a new Mario or Zelda or Pokémon. You can check out the latest numbers below.
Alongside Nintendo, we talked to the team behind the smash hit horror game Phasmaphobia about its new publishing arm: Kinetic Publishing. And Nex Playground plots its global expansion.
Plus, The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald joins us on the Show to discuss all of these topics, and shares some details about her upcoming book: Super Nintendo.
Whether you’re planning to watch, listen or read… I hope you find today’s edition useful.
Enjoy!
Switch 2 sales stumble over Christmas
Nintendo Switch 2 sales momentum slowed over the key holiday sales period, particularly in Western markets.
It follows a huge launch for the console in June, when Switch 2 became the fastest-selling game console with over 3.5 million units sold in just four days.
The Game Business understands that Switch 2 sales in the US over the holiday period (November – December) was down by around 35% compared with what the Switch 1 delivered during the same period in 2017, which was when it launched. This follows a separate report from US data tracker Circana, which revealed that US console sales overall had their worst November since 1995. Circana’s December figures are due later in the month.
There are also mixed results across Europe. In the UK, Switch 2 sales for the last eight weeks of the year were 16% lower than what Switch 1 managed during the last eight weeks of 2017 (NielsenIQ data).
However, when we add in Switch 1 UK sales, the overall number of Nintendo devices sold during November and December 2025 are up 7% compared with the same period in 2017. Overall for the year, Switch 2 UK sales are 6% higher than what Switch 1 managed in its first year (which was also on sale for 14 extra weeks).
The most disappointing result was in France, which is typically one of Nintendo’s key European markets. According to data shared with The Game Business, Switch 2 sales in France last year were ‘over 30%’ lower than what Switch 1 achieved in its first year. As a result, the UK was bigger than France for Switch 2 sales in 2025.
France was an outlier in terms of full year results. Nevertheless, all major European markets saw a slowdown in Switch 2 sales momentum over the Christmas sales window.
One senior Nintendo employee told me that a “complicated economic landscape”, mixed with higher price points and “the absence of a major Western game” during Christmas could make for tough comparisons with Switch 1, but overall, he’s proud of what was accomplished during a tricky year.
In terms of the Japanese market, Switch 2 finished strongly, but sales were a little lower over November and December compared with the Switch 1 launch year. For the last nine weeks of 2025, 1.32 million Switch 2 consoles were sold in Japan (Famitsu data). This is slightly down (-5.5%) on the 1.39 million units that the Switch 1 sold over the same period in 2017.
However, it was an impressive year in Japan overall, with Switch 2 sales up 11% compared with the launch year of Switch 1 (despite the Switch 1 being on sale for longer). The Switch 2 proposition in Japan is stronger than it is in Western markets, with a cheaper Japan-only version of the console (at roughly $335). Also, the Switch 2 line-up for holiday 2025 was better suited to Japanese player tastes, with Kirby Air Riders one of the key releases. Kirby is a popular IP in Japan, and Air Riders has already sold over 420,000 units since its release (boxed sales only).
The Switch 2 was discussed as part of today’s edition of The Game Business Show, featuring The Guardian journalist Keza MacDonald. We noted that the 2017 Switch 1 launch year benefitted from a string of major titles, including the release of Super Mario Odyssey in October. There was no similar-sized game for Switch 2 during the same period.
Looking ahead, Switch 2’s release slate for 2026 is currently lacking a major first-party game. Nintendo’s announced line-up is made up of Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, The Duskbloods and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. However, Keza MacDonald feels Switch 2 exclusive Pokémon Pokopia, in which players build their own Pokémon paradise, might be one to watch. That game is due on March 5.
Other key titles include Switch 2 updates to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Mario Wonder. More details on upcoming Switch 2 games will likely be revealed in the coming weeks, including products designed to tie-in with the 30th anniversary of Pokémon.
Nintendo’s biggest release for the first half of 2026 is The Super Mario Galaxy movie, which arrives in April.
Developer of mega hit Phasmaphobia launches game publisher
The team behind the smash hit co-op horror game Phasmaphobia is looking to fund and publish video games.
Developer Kinetic Games has launched Kinetic Publishing. The new division is looking to release up to three games a year, and is targeting titles with a ‘clear vision’ that are 12 to 18 months from release.
The move follows the experience of CEO Daniel Knight, who had to frantically set-up a business and manage game development and publishing, largely by himself, following the shock success of Phasmaphobia in 2020. The game has now sold over 25 million copies, and will leave Early Access this year.
“When the game released, I’d never run a business before,” Knight told The Game Business. “I’d never had to grow a studio or hire people or do anything [like that]. I’ve had to learn all of it on my own. Essentially, now I’ve gone through basically every single thing that any game studio would ever go through, we have a very good opportunity to be able to offer that support to other people.”
Kinetic Game is now approaching 40 employees, with a team of five handling the publishing side. This includes director of marketing and partnerships Asim Tanvir, who has experience in various PR, social and marketing roles at 2K, Konami, Zynga and Deep Silver.
“We will be looking at smaller indie teams,” Tanvir tells us. “That’s what we want to help champion. That’s the space that Dan grew Phasmaphobia in. You’ve seen the success of all those indie games recently, and we absolutely love that and want to support that. Whether it be horror or multiplayer, whether it be cosy games, or RPGs, or pixel-art stuff, or realistic stuff. We don’t want to box ourselves in, we just want to help support that indie space and help it grow even further.”
Knight adds that the new publishing initiative won’t impact the 1.0 release of Phasmaphobia.
“Day-to-day, my responsiblity is still going to be on [Phasmaphobia],” Knight says. “I’m not going to be too heavily involved in the publishing side. It’ll be mostly around green-lighting and oversight of the whole thing.”
Nex Playground comes to Europe in spring
The sold-out US game console Nex Playground is coming to Europe in 2026, beginning with a UK launch this spring.
The machine sold through its 650,000 unit inventory in North America during 2025, and even surpassed Xbox sales during November in the US. The console features a curated library of family and kids games, which users must subscribe to access.
In addition to the global expansion, Nex has announced a big push into sports games. It’s working with sports and comedy channel Dude Perfect on a new game for 2026. It follows on from the release of NHL Puck Rush at the end of 2025, which was Nex’s first sports league partnership. The company says it is also working on titles with other leagues, including the NBA, and is developing a line of sport-related accessories.
Nex began its business developing sports training mobile apps, and you can read more about the company’s story in our big interview from last month with CEO David Lee.
Finally, Nex is launching a ‘virtual playdate’ feature that will allow players to connect online between Nex Playground devices. The company showcased the system at CES, which prioritises safety and security for young users.
Meanwhile…
Steam players of Fallout 4 doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 with the launch Fallout Season Two on Amazon Prime (SteamDB data). However, it’s a far more muted response compared to the first series, which saw nine million more players jump into the game in April 2024 (Ampere data). As we saw with the Halo and The Last of Us TV Series, the second series of a TV show doesn’t have nearly the same impact as the first on video game sales.
That’s something for Crystal Dynamics and Amazon to keep in mind with the Tomb Raider TV show, which goes into production this month. The full cast for the show has now been announced. Sigourney Weaver is playing a new character called Evelyn Wallis, Jason Isaacs takes on the role of Lara’s uncle Atlas DeMornay, while Bill Paterson is playing the butler Winston. Other cast members include Jack Bannon, Celie Imrie, John Hefferman, Paterson Joseph and Sasha Luss. They all join Sophie Turner who will take on the Lara Croft role. Alongside the TV show, there are two Tomb Raider games coming. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a reimagining of the original game, and is due this year, while a new game called Tomb Raider Catalyst is set for 2027. 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Tomb Raider series.
Ubisoft has closed its Halifax studio in Canada, just days after the team voted to unionize. Halifax is best known for developing mobile games based on Ubisoft IP. 71 positions are affected.
And South Park is coming to Fortnite. The latest collaboration follows the successful partnership with The Simpsons from November, which delivered a surge in Fortnite players.
That’s it for today’s edition of The Game Business. We’ll be back next week with more news, analysis and insight into the world of the video game industry. And of course, check back on Monday for our first The Game Business Micro of the year (paid subscribers only).
Until next time, thank you for reading.
