The XP Drop 🕹 Friday June 6, 2025
It's Nintendo Switch 2 launch week! But that's not all - new Witcher 4 tech demo preview is out as well as a new State of Play showing off everything from PlayStation.
🎉 Happy Friday everyone, and happy Nintendo Switch 2 launch week to those celebrating! It’s been quite a stacked week, so sit back, relax and let us recap everything you might have missed. 😌
🗣 The Patch Notes
🚨 ICYMI
🛒 Stock Check
💸 This week’s releases
📽 Clip of the Week
👾 RETROspective
🗣 The Patch Notes
The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here - but where on earth is the buzz?
It’s been a weird one from Nintendo when it comes to the Switch 2 launch, with no pre-release reviews on the console whatsoever. And for many, this has very much dampened the hype of the device.
Many reviewers and outlets have been forced to wait until release day to get samples, which means little to no comprehensive reviews at launch.
According to VGC, Nintendo decided not to send Switch 2 review units to press ahead of launch because “important features and updates” will only be available via a system update on the day of the console’s official release, on June 5.
VGC’s Andy Robinson added:
“It did not say what these updates entail, or explain why the media wasn’t offered the opportunity to review its launch games, like Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Welcome Tour, at in-person events instead, like it did with previous console launches such as Wii. Neither did it explain why critics can’t be trusted to cover products with knowledge that additional functionality will be patched later, as they’re frequently used to.”
Forbes also published a similar article talking about why Switch 2 reviews have been held back until launch.
It’s a weird approach for Nintendo, and it’s fair to say, it has certainly sliced the hype when it comes to the launch. Many gamers rely on reviews and discussion to qualify purchases and generate hype - and this might come back to bite Nintendo at least in the short term.
🃏 Did you know… Fortnite earned a staggering $2.4 billion in 2018 through in-game purchases, despite being completely free to play.
🚨 ICYMI
🧙♀️ CD PROJEKT RED showed off a tech demo of The Witcher 4 in Unreal Engine 5 - and my oh my, it looks impressive. You can watch the video here and make sure you skip to 30 minutes for the Witcher preview.
🎮 PlayStation’s new State of Play took place on June 4 - sneakily close to the Switch 2 release. Nevertheless, Sony showed off a load of news and updates on great games coming to PS5. You can check it out here.
💸 Activision responds after Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6 players were seeing advertisements for premium skins in games. It’s fair to say people were NOT happy. Eurogamer wraps up the story up nicely right here.
👷 NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang reflects on the work that NVIDIA and Nintendo put into creating the custom Switch 2 processor in a new Creator’s Voice Special Edition video. Nintendo Insider has a good overview of the story here.
📖 Our friends over at All Out Gaming have given a rundown on which Switch games will get updates for the Switch 2 if you’re buying it this week.
Have we missed a story? Let us know here
🛒 Stock Check
It’s Nintendo Switch 2 release week, and if you’re wondering where to get your hands on the device, you might be in luck as some retailers held back stock of the console for release day.
At the time of writing, Switch 2 fans can check out Argos for remaining stock as it has been the most reliable for local pickup and delivery.
And for shoppers wanting to get some cheap games, we covered how to get cheap Switch 2 games right here.
💸 This week’s releases
👷 Rise of Industry 2 - PC, PS5 and XBOX (June 3)
🐶 Deltarune - PC, PS5, XBOX, Switch, Switch 2 (June 4)
🎮 Nintendo Switch 2 console - Switch 2 (June 5)
🏎️ Mario Kart: World - Switch 2 (June 5)
⚔️ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch 2 edition) - Switch 2 (June 5)
⚔️ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch 2 edition) - Switch 2 (June 5)
🔫 Splitgate 2 - PS5, PC, XBOX (June 6)
🎮 What we’re playing this week
Chris is on his own this week as Liam has just had a baby! 🎉
Meanwhile, Chris has been dabbling with fighting games and has just got his hands on Tekken 8. 👊
“My first video game I ever played as a child was Tekken 3 and since then, I’ve never really touched a fighting game. But I’ve recently picked up Tekken 8 and my, oh, my - this might be my new addiction".
📽 Clip of the Week
Elden Ring is a notoriously tough game, and user nifty_swift on Reddit showed off how rough the game can be even with 1200 hours under their belt.
Keep us in the loop and submit your feedback, news and favourite clips here
👾 RETROspective
On this day (June 6), the first ever Legend of Zelda game was released on a handheld device. Say hello to Link’s Awakening!
The 1993 classic was published and developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy on June 6 in Japan. A month later, the game came to Europe and sold four million units worldwide.
For many, Link’s Awakening is one of the best handheld games ever released. It even inspired a remake that was released in 2019 on the Nintendo Switch.
The most-visited links from last week’s newsletter:
Elden Ring Nightreign review - I'd rather be playing Elden Ring
The Elden Ring movie is confirmed, but I'm not sure director Alex Garland is the right fit
Nintendo Switch 2 is back in stock at some UK retailers - here's how to buy
Thanks for reading The XP Drop 004
Free subs: 140