The Stardew Valley/Minecraft future of comfort games on Switch 2

The Switch 2 hype is building with, unsurprisingly, all hardware pre-orders sold out in minutes. And I guess the big hitter games will head that way too. Especially Cyberpunk 2077 and its full-game-on-card novelty. 

While I fear for the endless "quality comparisons" of the big games, I'm more interested in what happens next to some more casual Switch titles. There's nothing more relaxing in gaming than curling up with a Vita or Switch and playing with comforting games like Minecraft, Stardew and a few others. 

So, the question is, aside from Nintendo's own roster of characters, the Pokémon and Monster Hunter steamrollers, - what will the major "comfort" games do to maintain or boost their presence for Switch 2? 

Yes, players can run their existing Switch copies of Stardew Valley or Minecraft (and most other games) on the Switch 2, with neither showing up on the compatibility issues lists. But I'm worried about save games and large collections of content packs and DLC making it over. (Ok, they can get copied over!) 

Comfortable Minecraft Switch 2 musings

I'm primarily talking about the near 8-million-on-Switch selling Stardew Valley and those 6 million Minecraft Switch fans. (And growing, with Minecraft perennially glued near the top of the Switch charts.) 

That's a lot of people who love their relaxing gaming and will want to bring their memories and experience to Switch 2. As well as enjoy the features of a modern version over the increasingly creaky Switch offering. 

The immediate news is the likelihood of the Minecraft Vibrant Visuals update making it to the Switch 2. That would be a good feature for an updated physical release, and the developers are seeing what platforms this PC-first update will work on, but Switch 2 should be a shoe-in. Check out the VV video for lots of shiny transitions. 

Hopefully there will also be work on performance issues like loading times, world lag and use of the Switch mouse controls. 

Wrap that into a new release or collection of updates and I'd be a happy Minecraft camp builder. Especially with no sign of a Minecraft 2 title, no matter how successful that pesky movie is. 

An ongoing Stardew Valley Switch 2 story

For Concerned Ape's Stardew Valley, there's less certainty, with the game approaching a decade of rural service, but still receiving regular Switch patches. 

With Eric Barone hard at work on "Haunted Chocolatier," surely there's room in 505 Games' or FanGamer's, or another publisher's schedule for a 10th anniversary release and update?

Perhaps add in a few tweaks and features for current-gen consoles and Switch 2, and Stardew Valley could easily secure a few more years of life among new fans. 

Either way, keep looking to see what gets a fresh lease of life. And on the subject, other comfort games will try and keep with the times? Powerwash Simulator is an obvious candidate, any others you can think of?