Leaked Video Shows Nintendo Switch 2 Start-up Ahead of Launch

A short video leaked online shows the first public start-up of Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console. The footage, shared by the Russian Telegram channel Pops & Culture, briefly shows the Switch 2 powering on and hitting the setup screen.

Nintendo Switch 2’s start-up screen doesn’t go much further than language selection, though. Like many modern consoles, the Switch 2 seems to lock most features—including game access—behind a day-one update, which hasn’t rolled out yet. That means even if someone has the hardware early, they can’t do much with it.

The start-up does give us something new, though: fresh system menu music. It’s unclear whether that track sticks around in the main UI, but it adds to the trickle of early details now emerging ahead of launch. As Nintendo Soup reports, the Russian leaker isn’t afraid of Nintendo coming after him. Here’s what he said to the publication:

I thought about it first, like, ‘Whoa, what if they’re gonna, like, ban my Switch account?’ I didn’t sign any NDAs. I bought this with my money. I bought it, I didn’t steal it or something like that. Also, Nintendo is from Japan, you know, and they don’t have any official shops in Russia anymore. They don’t have a jurisdiction in Russia.

It’s not like we want to show that, ‘Oh, we got a Switch 2, you didn’t get a Switch 2. No, we just want to show you, like, some content and show that even in Russia, we have a lot of sanctions, you know, a lot of big companies banned us, yeah, yeah, but we want to show all the world that Russia also has, like, just some guys that just want to play video games.

Also read: Nintendo sues Genki for leaking Switch 2 at CES 2025

One thing still unknown is whether physical Switch 2 games will work out of the box or also need that update. For now, those who’ve tried haven’t had success playing even Switch 1 titles.

Nintendo plans to officially launch the Switch 2 on Thursday, June 5. Retailers like Smyths in the UK and Ireland have confirmed midnight launches, and Nintendo’s also dropping big-name games like Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Editions of titles like Tears of the Kingdom, the same day.