The Nintendo Switch 2 Is Officially Backwards Compatible

Did you all catch the big news last night? Apparently, a defining part of the 20-teens is returning for a second reign. That's right: The Nintendo Switch 2 will officially be backwards compatible.

Yes, on a night when many Americans (and probably a good number of people worldwide) were glued to social media to see how a different red-and-blue tinged story would turn out, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa took to the company's X (formerly Twitter) account to reveal that yes, the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be able to play games from the previous generation.

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It was a bit of unequivocally good news during an otherwise tumultuous evening, but if you're wondering why the family friendly publisher announced it at 8:26 on a certain Tuesday in November, that's a good question. The answer's a bit boring, unfortunately. There was no surprise Direct or the like; rather, the news had previously been discussed during Nintendo's Q2 2025 midyear policy briefing earlier that day. Take it more as a clarification to investors than something meant to build hype.

That said, the news is pretty dry, and the briefing doesn't reveal much else, noting that more information about the technically still unannounced console (including, presumably, its release date), will come at a later date." The only other nugget we got is that the Nintendo Switch Online service was also confirmed to be available on the Switch successor, so buyers will likely also have access to the subscription's retro game catalog right out the gate.

Fixing the Switch's biggest mistake

Despite the subdued nature of the announcement, it puts the Switch 2 ahead of Nintendo's current console in a big way. That's because the Switch's inability to play Wii or Wii U games meant the company instead had to rerelease those games all over again, in wave after wave of remasters, essentially forcing customers to re-buy their old library while also leaving some titles stranded in the previous generation. The Switch's successor, on the other hand, will have access to a whole generation's worth of content the instant you boot it up.

The question on everyone's mind right now, then, is whether said content will also be enhanced in any way, like how new PlayStations and Xbox consoles handle older titles. Some recent Switch games have arguably gotten a bit big for that system's britches, so if the Switch 2 can play them at higher resolutions or faster framerates, it'd breathe new life into games that were maybe a bit ahead of their time upon release.

Regardless, backwards compatibility on the Switch successor means you can keep buying Switch games with peace of mind for now, knowing that you won't have to keep two Nintendo consoles plugged into your TV when it comes time to replace it.