The successor to the most successful handheld in history just got a massive “wink-wink” from a major ratings board, and the hype train is officially leaving the station.
The News
Evidence for the next-gen Nintendo hardware is stacking up faster than a game of Tetris. The Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee has officially listed BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! for a platform explicitly named “Switch 2.” While Nintendo has remained tight-lipped about the specifics of their upcoming hardware, this source leak via a government classification body is as close to an official confirmation as we get before a Direct. This comes just as critics at VGC have finalized their list of the 50 best Nintendo Switch games, signaling a nostalgic look back before the industry pivots to the future.
The Breakdown
- Platform Specificity: The rating explicitly lists the “Switch 2” rather than using a generic placeholder or the current model.
- The Developer: BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! is developed by HAL Laboratory, a studio historically inseparable from Nintendo.
- Release Timing: Ratings typically appear 3 to 6 months before a software launch, suggesting a potential early 2025 window.
- Backward Compatibility? It remains unclear if this is a native port or if the rating covers an enhanced version of the 2019 puzzle hit.
- Market Context: This follows months of supply chain rumors regarding 8-inch LCD screens and NVIDIA T239 chips.
The Jay Respawns Take
Let’s be real: a BoxBoy rating isn’t exactly the Metroid Prime 4 or Mario reveal we’re all starving for, but the name check is monumental. It confirms that international rating boards are already processing software for the next machine, meaning the hardware is finalized and developer kits are out in the wild.
The bottom line is that Nintendo is currently in the “controlled leak” phase of their marketing cycle. If a niche puzzle game is getting rated now, expect the dam to break on the heavy hitters within the next few months. Keep it locked here for more.
The Switch 2 isn’t just a rumor anymore; it’s a reality sitting on a government spreadsheet in Taiwan.
