Switch 2 Officially Has 2 Exclusive GOTY Contenders In September 2026
Switch 2 is set for one of its busiest months yet, with publishers rushing new titles out ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6's release, and Nintendo's console securing two notable exclusives alongside a wave of major third-party day-one launches. Chief among them is Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, a new entry in Nintendo and Intelligent Systems' tactical RPG series that fans hope can match the heights of 2013's Awakening, plus Orbitals, a stylish co-op puzzle-platformer from Tokyo studio Shapefarm and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 publisher Kepler Interactive.
Beyond the exclusives, September brings three AAA cross-platform games day one on Switch 2, including Capcom's Way of the Sword, the first mainline entry in its historical action-adventure series in 20 years, plus EA's rebranded football game featuring a new social hub called The Grounds, and a Minecraft dungeon-crawler sequel. There's also a 3D sequel to indie favourite Moonlighter, alongside numerous ports such as Valheim, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and Dragon Quest 11 S.
- Switch 2 gets Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and co-op game Orbitals as exclusives
- Capcom, EA and Minecraft titles launch day one on Switch 2 too
- September 2026 is among Switch 2's busiest release months ever
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Fire Emblem is a long-running Nintendo tactical role-playing series where players move squads of characters across grid-based maps, and Fortune's Weave is the next full entry in that line, following on from 2013's well-regarded Awakening. Orbitals is a separate game, a co-op puzzle-platformer made by Tokyo-based studio Shapefarm and published by Kepler Interactive, the company behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Both are being released only for Nintendo's Switch 2 console, meaning they can't be played on rival systems such as PlayStation or Xbox.
The wider context is that Switch 2 is heading into an unusually crowded month, as several publishers are pushing out big titles before Grand Theft Auto 6 arrives and is expected to dominate attention. This includes major cross-platform games launching on Switch 2 the same day as other consoles, among them Capcom's Way of the Sword and a new entry in EA's football series, alongside a run of other new games and ported titles.
"GOTY" is shorthand for "Game of the Year," a term used informally to describe titles seen as strong contenders for end-of-year awards and best-of lists. Exclusive games are considered significant for a console because they can't be played elsewhere, giving people a specific reason to choose that platform over competitors.