The next Nintendo Direct live showcase has been confirmed and already my social media feeds are flooded with fervent speculation that this may finally be the place to see the rumored Nintendo Switch 2.

As announced earlier today, the next Nintendo Direct will take place tomorrow, Thursday, September 14, at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT/3 p.m. ET. The live-streamed event will be "approximately 40 minutes" long and is almost certain to provide fresh information on Nintendo's upcoming game titles, including "Super Mario Bros. Wonder" and the "Super Mario RPG" remake.

Nintendo has confirmed that the direct will "primarily focus on Nintendo Switch games coming out this winter" and is expected to mostly cover software that has already been announced. However, there may be a few surprises and third-party announcements.

While it's not impossible that there could be an unexpected "one last thing" announcement, I really don't expect Nintendo to unveil any new hardware at this special digital event; the day will come when the Nintendo Switch 2 is revealed, but it will (probably) not be tomorrow.

If Nintendo decides to show us its next-gen hardware (which is not confirmed to be called Switch 2) for the first time, it will likely be a presentation dedicated solely to the company's next flagship gaming console.

When the Switch 2 is introduced to the world, Nintendo will surely want to bring all the attention to this console and will not want the hardware to share the spotlight with the games scheduled for release on the current Nintendo Switch family of consoles.

The logic also holds in reverse: news of the Switch 2 would overshadow whatever else Nintendo could announce at this Direct - aside from the return of Metroid Prime 4 - but that is also unlikely to be the desired outcome.

One would expect Nintendo to hope that an upcoming game like the Super Mario RPG remake would dominate the post-Direct online discussion, but even a sneak peak of the Switch 2 would not do that.

It is also fairly commonly said that the Switch 2 will launch in 2024, but some leakers have suggested that it won't hit store shelves until late next year. If this is true, it would be a little too early to say that an announcement is imminent. Also, even if the game console is scheduled for early 2024, it is unlikely that an official announcement will be made until closer to the holiday season.

There are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the next Nintendo Direct. I would love to see what courses will be included in the final course pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. However, I will keep my expectations firmly in check, and for the reasons stated above, I will not be expecting a Switch 2 reveal at this Direct.

In the meantime, if you want to sort through the many rumors surrounding Nintendo's follow-up to the highly successful Switch, be sure to check out our dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 hub. However, we are not so convinced by the last leaked information.