Civilization VII Dev Comments On Switch 2 Mouse Theory

If the rumors are true and the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons function like a mouse, what games can we expect? One of the devs of Civilization VII shared his take.

Matt Buckley

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Source: Firaxis Games, 2K, Nintendo

We are all patiently, or impatiently, waiting for further news from Nintendo about their new console. At least the reveal trailer proves it does exist, but other than that, there is not much we know about the Nintendo Switch 2’s capabilities and what games it will play. The reveal does seem to hint at what looks like a new Mario Kart, and even Xbox has stated their interest to support the new console, but so far it’s mostly speculation. One major rumor is that the new Joy-Cons will function much like a computer’s mouse. If this is true, and if it works well enough, this could be a great way for PC games, like the upcoming Civilization VII (read our review), to adapt to the Switch 2’s hardware.

Civilization VII dev comments on the potential for the Switch 2’s Joy-Con mouse theory

Today, IGN posted a quote from an interview they had with Civilization VII’s lead designer Ed Beach and executive producer Dennis Shirk. When thinking of a game that’s well suited for a mouse, real-time strategy and 4x strategy games, like the Civilization series, are some of the first that come to mind. Others might be first-person shooters like Call of Duty, or maybe Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Nintendo will be waiting until April 2nd to share more details about the new console but Shirk did have one comment about the situation.

According to IGN, Beach remained silent, while Shirk gave a response. The quote does not confirm or deny anything or give any details that Nintendo would be unhappy about, but it certainly gives more fuel to the speculative fires. When asked about the rumored mouse functionality, Shirk said “It is definitely intriguing.” Adding, “You always do some trade-offs when you have to deal with pure console controls… I love what they’re doing with the controllers. It’s all very cool. That’s about all I can say about it in terms of opinion… I think it looks awesome.”

If this rumor turns out to be true, and the Nintendo Switch 2 is a much more powerful console than its predecessor, it opens the door for a lot of games. Thinking of other games that are best on a PC, Xbox recently announced that Age of Mythology: Retold and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition would be the latest in a line of Xbox Game Studio titles to make the jump to PlayStation 5. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has already gone on record about his plans to support the Switch 2, so maybe these real-time strategy games will arrive on the new Nintendo console as well.

All of these rumors rest on the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch 2. Using a Joy-Con as a mouse could be fun, but if the hardware isn’t powerful enough to run modern games like Civilization VII, then it may not be enough to impress PC gamers. Hopefully, either way, Nintendo will find a strange and exciting use for it with their first-party games.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII

February 11, 2025

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Matt Buckley

Author: Matt Buckley

After studying creative writing at Emerson College in Boston, Matt published a travel blog based on a two-month solo journey around the world, wrote for SmarterTravel, and worked on an Antarctic documentary series for NOVA, Antarctic Extremes. Today, for Gamepressure, Matt covers Nintendo news and writes reviews for Switch and PC titles. Matt enjoys RPGs like Pokemon and Breath of the Wild, as well as fighting games like Super Smash Bros., and the occasional action game like Ghostwire Tokyo or Gods Will Fall. Outside of video games, Matt is also a huge Dungeons & Dragons nerd, a fan of board games like Wingspan, an avid hiker, and after recently moving to California, an amateur surfer.