Nintendo Switch 2 supports third-party USB mice, too

The Nintendo Switch 2 isn't done surprising us in the weeks leading up to its June 5 launch.

In a developer-commentated YouTube clip for the Switch 2 version of Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening CE (via Engadget), producer Michi Ryu confirmed something we didn't already know about the hotly anticipated new Nintendo console: It has USB mouse support on top of the ability to use a Joy-Con controller as a mouse. According to Ryu, you can plug a USB mouse into the Switch 2 during gameplay in Nobunaga's Ambition, and the game will seamlessly recognize it, giving the USB mouse control priority over the Joy-Con.

To be clear, this is just one game. There has been no word yet about any other Switch 2 games supporting USB mice, but the fact that one game can do it means any game can potentially do it in the future. It's worth pointing out you could technically do this on an original Switch as well, but it's an entirely different ballgame now that the console's default controllers have mouse functionality built in. That means mouse support is something more developers are going to actively think about including, and support for USB mice could come alongside that.

For context, fewer than 30 original Switch games let you use a mouse, so I would expect the total number of Switch 2 games with this functionality to be much larger than that by the time we're moving onto the Switch 3 a decade from now. We'll be on the lookout to see if some of the other prominent mouse-controlled Switch 2 games like Metroid Prime 4 and Civilization VII support third-party USB mice when the console launches in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, if you don't have a confirmed preorder, make sure you're tracking the latest Switch 2 restocks.