Nintendo has filed 4 confidential design registrations in Europe for what is likely a single new piece of hardware.
Ninpatentswatch on Blue Sky has discovered that Nintendo has filed four design registrations in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), potentially hinting at an unannounced hardware product currently in development. The registrations were submitted on May 29, 2026, and are listed as “subject to deferment,” meaning that the console maker has legally requested that the designs be kept completely confidential until a later date.
While the Nintendo filings themselves reveal no images or details, they are all under the same application number and have the same starting design number, suggesting that they may be connected to the same piece of hardware rather than four separate products. This pattern has been seen before in the console maker’s previous design registrations, where multiple filings were used to cover different aspects of a single product. Examples include the Switch 2 game cartridges and the Switch 2 Joy-Con grip, both of which were represented through multiple related design registrations.
The four registrations can be found in the EUIPO database under design numbers 015143440-0001 through 015143440-0004. Nintendo has a history of using deferred design registrations to protect upcoming hardware and accessories before they are publicly announced. Previous examples that were initially kept secret include the Charging Grip 2, the Nintendo LABO Vehicle Kit, the Nintendo LABO VR Kit, and an unreleased predecessor to the Alarmo alarm clock that was likely abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of related registrations makes it less likely that they are tied to routine regulatory or compliance requirements within the EU. Nintendo recently updated its documentation for compliance with EU directives and regulations, according to which future versions of the Switch 2 sold in Europe will comply with upcoming battery regulations that require user-replaceable batteries Read about it here.
