While the Nintendo Switch 2 might have already been quite successful, it looks like the company is also looking to expand on its current-gen offerings. Social media user dootsky.re has discovered references to a new model code on the Nintendo Account Portal. This code, however, is quite different from Nintendo’s other offerings.
Whereas the Switch 2 has the model code “BEE”, the one spotted by dootsky.re is “OSM”. Traditionally, Nintendo has kept the model codes for related hardware largely similar. The original Switch, for instance, had “HAC” as its code, with other models getting codes like “HAD”, “HDH,” and “HGE”.
Entering the “OSM” code into the address bar reveals an image of what essentially looks like a Switch 2. However, the image isn’t a highly-detailed picture; rather, it is an SVG—a kind of low-detail image format often used when lossless scaling across various resolutions is an important factor of web design. Due to the simpler look of “OSM”’s image, it is difficult to pinpoint where the differences between it and the regular Switch 2 might lie.
It is also worth considering that the SVG is simply a placeholder image that will eventually get changed to reflect what “OSM” truly looks like. Nintendo has traditionally offered various versions of its consoles just a year or two after their initial launches. Even the original Switch eventually got the handheld-only Switch Lite, and even the improved Switch OLED. Going back further, the Nintendo 3DS had a number of variants released over its lifespan, ranging from the larger 3DS XL, to the slightly more powerful New Nintendo 3DS, and the more child-oriented 2DS, among many others.
Mid-cycle refreshes aren’t exactly new territory for consoles in general, with even the PS5 having gotten a Slim version and a more powerful Pro model. While Microsoft has avoided this trend with its current crop of consoles, the Xbox One would eventually get the more powerful Xbox One X.
If this “OSM” model of the Switch 2 turns out to be something entirely new, like a Switch 2 Lite, we can expect hardware compromises having been made to bring the price down. Much like the original Switch Lite, a hypothetical Switch 2 Lite could once more focus on offering handheld mode only, which would also mean a lack of detachable JoyCons, along with other adjustments to make the console more ergonomic to use for longer play sessions in handheld mode.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was launched in June 2025 and has since sold quite a few units. The company revealed in November that over 10 million units of the console had been sold so far. However, the company saw a sales slump happening throughout the November to December period, with Switch 2 sales falling behind the launch-year sales of the original Switch for the same two months.
For more details about the Nintendo Switch 2, check out our review of the console. Also check out details about the biggest releases coming to the platform this month—Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.
I think I’ve discovered something interesting, but I have no idea what it implies:On Nintendo’s Account Portal, there’s an unused model code under the name “OSM”. (The Switch 2’s model code is BEE.)The portal has images for each Switch model, and requesting OSM returns an image of a Switch 2.
— sky :3 (@dootsky.re) 2026-01-15T06:59:14.173Z
For the people speculating about OSM being a switch 2 model: nobody knows what the heck it is! For the Switch system family, the original model name was HAC and its revisions/extra models were HAD, HDH, and HEG. The Switch 2 is obviously BEE, as I’d said before. So OSM doesn’t line up with either 🤔
— sky :3 (@dootsky.re) 2026-01-16T03:32:51.640Z
Also YES this is the same as the image used for the EXISTING SWITCH 2, it is not a unique image, it is the SAME svg Do not draw conclusions for what OSM is based on how that lookswb.lp1.chameleon.srv.nintendo.net/img?pc=BEE&s…
— sky :3 (@dootsky.re) 2026-01-16T08:02:52.785Z
