Newly revealed Nintendo Switch 2 has a mysterious new button, and no one knows what it does yet

The new Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons on a white background. They're black with some pops of colour around the sticks, and there's a new button under the home button — (Image credit: Nintendo)

The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been officially revealed following months of leaks and rumors, and it has a mystery button on the right Joy-Con that isn't the C button that was promised.

According to old rumors, the Switch 2 was going to have a C button that harkened back to the days of the N64 and GameCube. I'll be honest, I never understood the C stick or buttons when I was a kid and I don't understand this new mystery button now.

The most popular belief was that this new button would open some sort of chat menu, but now that we've actually seen the new Joy-Cons, while there is a new button under the Home button on the right Joy-Con, it's completely blank, so there's no way to tell.

The screenshot button is still on the left Joy-Con under the direction buttons, so it's not that. It could be a video capture button, but I don't think so, as it would make more sense to just have a long press of the existing screenshot button save a video clip or open up a sharing menu like you can do with the share button on the PS5's DualSense.

Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer - YouTube

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It could also be a button that activates a new software feature that hasn't been announced yet. There is a Nintendo Direct coming April 2, 2025, so we'll likely get an answer on the day or before.

As for what we do know, the Switch 2 will have backwards compatibility with both physical and digital Switch games, so your collection is safe. There is an asterisk that notes some games may not be supported, though.

It also looks like Mario Kart 9 is the first official game revealed for the console, and Donkey Kong has undergone a redesign that makes him look more like his film counterpart.

To keep up with all the new information, check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live page to see everything that's being revealed.

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I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.