We finally know about the C button on the Nintendo Switch 2 – here’s what it does

Finally, a Nintendo Switch with Game Chat

02 Apr 2025, 14:36 · TechRadar

News By Roland Moore-Colyer published 2 April 2025

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The C button will trigger the new Game Chat mode
This mode lets Switch 2 users have audio and video chats with each other
And that means a Switch console will finally have built-in chat options; just be prepared to pay for it after a year

We just got a deeper look at the Nintendo Switch 2 and with that came an explanation of the mysterious C button. And the C basically stands for chat.

That’s because this new button on the right Joy-Con is designed to trigger the new Game Chat feature for the Switch 2. This is a form of chat that’s not too far away from Discord, that allows users to chat with their friends via a built-in microphone in the Joy-Con.

Working in handheld and docked mode, Game Chat also lets you chat with friends who may be playing different games. Hitting the C button basically triggers the Game Chat mode’s menu in-game for audio and video chat. And this will all work in tandem with the new Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, which will naturally provide the video feed for you to appear in Game Chat.

Now chatting in games with friends will be nothing new to PS5 or Xbox Series X players, especially as the latter has Discord support, but for Nintendo, it’s a whole new world.

The idea here is that the chats Switch players may have had when playing local multiplayer - think yelling at each other over being piped to the post in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or being smug about Super Smash Bros Ultimate victories - to take place online, with the video aspect helping get closer to replication of couch-based multiplayer.

For me, a 38-year-old gamer who grew up playing Goldeneye 64, Super Smash Bros, and Mario Kart 64 multiplayer hunched around a CRT TV with neighbors and my brother, I somewhat miss the couch-based multiplayer of my youth.

And while the current Switch does offer a pretty special in-person multiplayer mode in that you can basically start a Mario Kart tournament in the pub, thanks to the stand and detachable Joy-Cons, remote multiplayer with friends isn't great due the lack of a built-in chat for the Switch.

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