Nintendo Confirms Switch 2 Will Support Backward Compatibility with Switch Games

Following its Corporate Management Policy Briefing, Nintendo took to Twitter to share some exciting news: games designed for the Nintendo Switch will be compatible with its upcoming successor, commonly referred to by fans as the Switch 2.

Nintendo’s detailed Management Policy Briefing, which you can find on their website, also sheds light on the company’s current standing in the world of console hardware. The briefing highlights the impressive milestone of 146 million units sold from the Nintendo Switch family. It also notes that people have enjoyed more software on the Switch than any other Nintendo console in history. For those interested in the fine details, the entire 59-page document offers a deep dive into sales data and historical insights. It reassures gamers that the Nintendo Switch Online service — alongside other offerings like Music — will continue to be available with the launch of the Switch 2.

If you’re more attuned to Sony or Microsoft’s approach to console compatibility, this announcement might not come as a shock. Microsoft has long excelled in the area of backward compatibility. They’ve not only ensured original Xbox and Xbox 360 games could be played on Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X, but they’ve also enhanced these games with features like FPS Boost and Resolution Boosting. Sony, on the other hand, has had a more limited history with backward compatibility. While the PS3 supported older consoles seamlessly, the PS5 primarily focuses on PS4 titles, with select PS2 and PS1 games available via emulation. Unfortunately for pre-PS4 titles, PS3 games have been confined to cloud streaming on newer consoles, a decision that hasn’t sat well with many PlayStation fans.

Historically, Nintendo has done well with backward compatibility — that is, until the Nintendo Switch. The Wii U, its predecessor, allowed playback of Wii and GameCube discs and offered a Virtual Console to access most past libraries. Similarly, the Nintendo 3DS could play DS games, though it didn’t support older handheld titles from the Game Boy Advance era.

With the introduction of the Switch, which united handheld and home console features and transitioned to Arm CPU cores from PowerPC, Nintendo completely dropped last-generation compatibility. Thankfully, the success of the Switch with its Nvidia-powered hardware has convinced Nintendo to maintain this new architecture. This means that current Switch game purchases won’t leave players with obsolete collections once Switch 2 becomes available.

This development also sparks hope that games hindered by the original hardware limitations, like the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, might finally run at buttery smooth frame rates above 60 FPS. There is an ongoing tension between Nintendo and emulation software developers, in part because emulators like Dolphin can reproduce the GameCube and Wii experience. An unhindered Switch emulator could potentially handle Switch 2 games too, something Nintendo is keen to curb.

Stay tuned for further updates and insights into the evolving gaming landscape, and make sure to catch Tom’s Hardware’s top news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox.