Data miners have reportedly discovered the Switch 2 codename after a major data breach within Pokemon developer Game Freak.
The Switch 2 has had fans abuzz with anticipation, especially since Nintendo casually confirmed the Switch 2’s existence in May 2024 in a random tweet. President of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa, teased an official announcement sometime within the fiscal year. Since the confirmation, insiders and industry analysts have uncovered hints about what the Switch 2 will include.
Earlier in August 2024, manufacturers discussed when Nintendo Switch 2 units would start being assembled. Now, the Switch 2’s codename has supposedly been uncovered, albeit not in a way Nintendo would have liked.
What is the codename of the Switch 2?
The Switch 2’s code name is “Ounce” according to internal documents from Game Freak.
Game Freak went through a major data breach that leaked source code for its games, early designs for Pokemon, and more. Among the discoveries was the reveal that the company uses “Ounce (Oz)” when discussing the next-gen Nintendo console, commonly referred to as Switch 2. This corroborates other leaks that have circulated on forums since September 2024, which also claimed that the codename was “ounce.”
On October 13, Game Freak confirmed that a major data breach happened.
In May 2024, some reports claimed that the Switch 2’s code name is “Muji,” as found in software developer kits. As for what any of the codenames mean, fans haven’t discovered anything concrete. After all, codenames rarely reveal much about the console. Otherwise, they would make for poor codenames.
A brief history of Nintendo’s console code names
From the Game Boy to the Switch, here’s a list of code names Nintendo has used throughout the years for consoles and handheld gaming devices:
- Dot Matrix Game: Game Boy
- Virtual Utopia Experience: Virtual Boy
- Ultra 64/Project Reality: N64
- Atlantis: Game Boy Advance
- Oxygen: Game Boy Micro
- Dolphin: GameCube
- Revolution: Wii
- Project Cafe: Wii U
- Nitro: Nintendo DS
- Citra: 3DS
- NX: Switch
While some codenames offer some insight into the project, such as Virtual Utopia Experience, it’s rarely a jackpot of information. Even so, the leak provided fans with a handy code name to attach to potential information. Nintendo often used the internal code name on serial tags for console games, such as GameCube games with “DOL” at the beginning.
Either way, fans will surely keep an eye out for any Ounce-related findings from Nintendo.