Bethesda’s Fallout 4, post-nuclear war role-playing game, will definitely also next-gen the wizards of the wasteland. The release of the classic RPG of the wasteland will coincide with that of the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition, which is 2026 and is the first time for the Switch to be in the wasteland.
Nintendo shared the news on social media, catching everyone by surprise, and just wrote, “Heads up, Red! The @Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition is headed to #NintendoSwitch2 in 2026.” This extremely brief tweet, while it left a lot of questions regarding the nature of this anniversary edition, still managed to shock the gaming community and create a buzz around the topic.
Previously and in the past, this situation was already quite strange. By the time we reach 2026, the game “Fallout 4” will have already completed its 10th anniversary celebration, as it was released in 2015. Ten years is such a small period of time when games still feel very fresh and active. Still, the gaming community gets led back into the Commonwealth due to the series’ resurgence in popularity (thanks to the Amazon show).
The reactions of the players were as diverse as the full spectrum – very commonly seen in gaming Twitter. For the most part, people were very happy and they expressed their happiness to the fullest, for example,gbartshorts exclaimed, “Nintendo, always finding a way to pull me back in.” On the contrary, however, some expressed reservations and skepticism about paying full price for a game that was released a decade ago. Michael Costa mocked the situation saying, “That’ll be 80 dollars for a 10-year-old game.” Ouch! That’z surely a painful yet the truth!
Immediately, there were debates on Twitter about the announcement. User AdenLucash, for example, demanded “vault boy for smash!!! also don’t forget to deliver fallout 1-3 and new vegas.” This indeed is a very valid point – if they are going to bring Fallout 4 to Switch 2, why not the earlier games, especially New Vegas, considered by many players as the pinnacle of the franchise?
Performance issues were the first thoughts that came to people’s minds and they were very right, of course. RikaL posted “60fps handheld and I’m sold ❤️” which is pretty much the summary of most of the Switch 2 hopefuls’ thoughts. The current Switch has not been able to support some of the largest third-party titles, and now the question raised is how the new hardware will be able to cope with more demanding games like Fallout 4.
There was a bit of confusion about the exact source of this announcement. User dscottplays asked “@NintendoAmerica @Fallout Where did this come from? Did I miss a direct?😂” which is a completely valid question, considering this was a total surprise. No grand presentation, no teaser campaign – just bam, Fallout 4 is coming to Switch 2 in 2026, that’s it.
The ongoing debate about physical vs digital copies came back to life with George Rivera yelling “NO GAME KEY CARD PLEASE” – a reference to those irritating cases that just have download codes instead of real game cartridges inside them. Blind Nostalgia, though, had clear conditions: “If it’s completely on cart and has mouse controls I’ll be getting this for sure.” Mouse controls with a Switch game? That would be really crazy but also pretty awesome.
A few players were already considering this option against other ways of playing Fallout 4. User 0wlex said, “I enjoyed my experience with Fallout 4 modded on VR. Extremely immersive, I would recommend it over replaying on Switch 2.” But the whole purpose of the Switch is portability – being able to build masons while waiting at the DMV or whatever!
The discussing threads turned very hot, users like TreeSquid and Ashton68781988 were tearing each other apart and also responding with more and more aggressive gifs. Truly classic Twitter behavior. At the same time, user KiaMatr1x told the unspoken truth: “Don’t worry they will delay this just like Elden ring lol;” – hinting how the release of Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for the Switch 2 was pushed back.
What is curious is how this scenario will influence the long-term strategy concerning Nintendo’s next console. User xgramiliki was saying “Thank God for Bethesda and Capcom, Switch 2? Because even Nintendo is not giving us good things with this one”. For those who do not speak Portuguese, the message basically is that Nintendo is not yet offering nice stuff for Switch 2 but it is still the case that Bethesda and Capcom are there. It sounds a bit too raw but still, the first-party releases are not coming out that quick.
The whole “Anniversary Edition” aspect has created a lot of speculation about what exactly will be included. Are we going to get just the original game along with all expansions, or will there be some extra content in addition to that? Will the game have graphical improvements? The original tweet didn’t clarify anything so it still leaves everybody in a state of speculation. The date of 2026 and the title “Anniversary Edition” gives the conclusion of a rather confident thought that it will be a complete package with all the expansions.
Another question arises as to why 2026 specifically? That is still two years away, which seems like a long time for what is essentially a remaster of an older game. Maybe they want to build up the audience for the Switch 2 first, or maybe there are some technical difficulties that they need to overcome. Or perhaps they are just spacing out the releases carefully.
Nevertheless, from a business perspective, the timing makes a lot of sense. By 2026, the Fallout TV series would have aired multiple seasons and its audience would still be tuning in, thus keeping the franchise alive in people’s minds. And, if Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda shows that they want to reach out to more platforms with their games, then Nintendo is the right partner.
Some users have already started to speculate whether any other Fallouts would be coming to Switch 2 after 4’s arrival. KilljoyDiff inquired, “And Fallout 76 when?” Well, speaking of that game, its start was very rough but it has become quite good and enjoyable after the updates. So it could be fun for its portable version to be for the people who are still engaged.
The announcement would imply that PlayStation is going to have third-party support for the next console, big time. This is so coming after the times when the Switch was at times unable to get some of the major third-party titles, hence the inference that the Switch 2 will be of better capabilities and more attractive to the big publishers is great news for the customers who prefer more than just Mario and Zelda on their Nintendo console.
Like every gaming announcement these days, there were also a ton of memes and jokes in the replies. CrunchyHyena shared “When in doubt, go Charisma” with a funny gif – solid Fallout advice honestly. And tobaccojuulpod funnily commented “Bros going to speech check a mole rat to death”, such absurdity is typical of making Fallout games memorable.
So, yes, Fallout 4 is coming to Switch 2 in 2026. It’s a done deal, although we have to wait quite a long to see how good it is. No matter if you are excited to play it again on the go or if you think it is too little too late, it is certainly a fascinating move that indicates Nintendo’s next console might possess some serious third-party power. All we need now is to verify that it indeed runs well and what exactly this “Anniversary Edition” includes beyond the base game.
