Nintendo Details Switch Sports Resort's New Skateboarding and Thumb Wrestling Events
Nintendo detailed the full sports lineup for Switch Sports Resort, confirming new Skateboarding and Thumb Wrestling events ahead of its October 22 Switch 2 launch.
Nintendo has confirmed the full sports lineup for Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, detailing two brand-new events and ten returning favorites ahead of the game's October 22 launch on Nintendo Switch 2. The breakdown, posted to Nintendo's official site on October 16, gives the clearest picture yet of what players will find when they return to Wuhu Island in less than a week.
The game is a direct successor to 2022's Nintendo Switch Sports, swapping that title's open fields for the vacation-resort setting Nintendo first used in Wii Sports Resort. Twelve events in total made the final cut, split between the ten sports fans already know and two built specifically around the Joy-Con 2 controller's new tricks.
Two New Events Join the Resort
Thumb Wrestling is the simpler of the pair: a quick, one-on-one duel in which players pin an opponent's thumb for three seconds to win. It is built for short matches between rounds of the bigger events, the kind of filler game Wii Sports Resort used to pad out its minigame roster.
Skateboarding is the more ambitious addition. Nintendo's description has players holding the paired Joy-Con 2 controllers like a mouse, using that motion to grind rails, carve down slopes and pull off aerial tricks while exploring Wuhu Island on a board. It is the clearest example yet of a Switch 2 launch window game built around the controller's mouse mode rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Ten Returning Favorites Make the Trip Back
Alongside the newcomers, Nintendo confirmed the full list of returning sports players will recognize from the 2022 release:
- Power Cruising
- Archery
- Bowling
- Table Tennis
- Boxing
- Prop Plane
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Basketball
- Golf
Each carries over its motion-control scheme largely unchanged, though Nintendo says every event has been retuned to take advantage of the Switch 2's improved Joy-Con sensors. Players can also warm up between matches with a Jump Rope activity, a smaller addition that sits outside the main sport roster.
Island Crown Raises the Stakes
The biggest structural change is Island Crown, a single-player ladder that sends players through a gauntlet of CPU-controlled champions across the resort's events. It gives Switch Sports Resort a proper offline campaign for the first time in the series, rather than leaving solo players to practice drills against the clock. Nintendo has also added collectible items scattered around Wuhu Island itself, encouraging players to explore the hub on foot, by Prop Plane or on the new skateboard between matches.
Launch Details and Where to Play
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launches both digitally and at retail on October 22, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2, priced at $49.99 as a standalone game. Nintendo is also selling a $529.99 console bundle pairing a Switch 2 system with the full game, for players picking up both at once. Online play requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership sold separately, and Nintendo has not yet detailed how many players can compete together online, saying only that further information is coming closer to launch.
The October 22 date gives Nintendo Switch 2 owners a first-party sports title to close out the month. The full feature set, including control schemes for every event, is listed on Nintendo's official game page.
What's Still Unconfirmed
Nintendo's October 16 post did not break out online player counts, voice chat support or post-launch content plans. Some retail listings have circulated a thirteenth sport beyond the twelve Nintendo has confirmed; that detail has not appeared on Nintendo's own pages and should be treated as unverified until Nintendo says otherwise.
It's almost time for a getaway to Wuhu Island! ⏱️ Compete in 12 immersive sports, customize your Sportmate or Mii characters, and more in #NintendoSwitchSportsResort, coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch 2 on Oct 22.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) on X
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Theo covers the business of games for Gamers6: studio moves, platform strategy and the press releases nobody else finishes reading. He files most days before the coffee is cold.
