Newly-published Nintendo patents show that the company has been exploring a version of its Joy-Con controllers that can work like a computer mouse, a feature Nintendo has hinted will be coming to the Switch 2.

When Nintendo first unveiled the Switch 2 last month, we (and everyone else) noticed something peculiar about the new Joy-Con controllers. Now, some recently unearthed patent filings more or less confirm all the theories.

Nintendo’s recent innovation hints at upgraded controllers for Switch 1. If that happens, the old console could stick around for another eight years.

Furthermore, Nintendo refers to the new Switch 2 Joy-Con as the "first embodiment" of the input device, the mysterious new controller as the "second embodiment", and the original rail-system Joy-Con as the "third embodiment", suggesting that, yes, these are indeed separate devices.

It's been a month since we first heard rumors that the Switch 2's new Joy-Cons could be slid across a flat surface to function like a computer mouse. Now, a newly published patent filed by Nintendo seems to confirm that feature and describes how it will work.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 executive producer Dennis Shirk shared his opinion on the rumor that the new Switch 2 Joy-Con can be used as a PC-style mouse during a recent interview with IGN.

Who better to ask about that supposed Switch 2 mouse functionality than the producer of a popular RTS franchise with deep PC roots?

If you watched the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal video, you’ll have spotted what looked like a ‘mouse’ mode for the Joy-Cons. During the reveal trailer, there's a moment where a pair of detached Joy-Cons are lowered onto a surface,