Nintendo Confirms Switch 2 Will Support Backward Compatibility with Switch Games

Following its recent Corporate Management Policy Briefing, Nintendo took to Twitter to assure fans that games from the Nintendo Switch will be compatible with what most people are dubbing the Switch 2.

For those who are interested, the entire briefing is accessible on Nintendo’s website. It offers a comprehensive look at the company’s current standing in the console market. They proudly highlight selling 146 million units from the Switch Family and emphasize that more games have been played on the Switch than any of their previous consoles. The full 59-page document dives deep into sales figures and historical context, confirming that services like Nintendo Switch Online and more will continue to be part of the Switch 2 experience.

If you’re familiar with the practices of Sony or Microsoft, this move by Nintendo might not seem groundbreaking. Microsoft’s Xbox boasts excellent backward compatibility, complete with nifty features like FPS Boost for older games. Sony’s track record is a bit more erratic. After the PS3, which supported all its predecessors, they scaled back. Still, the PS5 runs PS4 games nearly flawlessly and even supports some PS2 and PS1 titles via emulation. However, PS3 games remain confined to cloud streaming for the newer consoles, to the annoyance of some die-hard fans.

In the past, Nintendo has generally been good with backward compatibility—up until the Switch, that is. The Wii U could run games from the Wii and GameCube and had a Virtual Console to cover other classics. Similarly, the 3DS could handle Nintendo DS games, though it didn’t support older handheld titles like Game Boy Advance games.

The Switch, however, marked a departure from this trend due to its transition from PowerPC to Arm CPU architecture and its merger of portable and home console lines. Fortunately, this new approach seems to have paid off, meaning those purchasing Switch games now won’t need to fret about losing access when Switch 2 makes its debut.

In a hopeful twist, this backward compatibility could also mean that games hampered by the original Switch hardware, like Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, might finally run smoother at over 60 FPS without having to rely on unofficial emulation solutions. Nintendo has been active in shutting down emulation options, partly because tools like Dolphin that handled GameCube and Wii might soon be used to emulate Switch 2 titles.