Following a detailed Corporate Management Policy Briefing, Nintendo took to Twitter with an exciting announcement: games from the current Nintendo Switch will be compatible with its upcoming console, often referred to as Switch 2.
If you dive into the full briefing on Nintendo’s website, you’ll find a comprehensive look at the company’s foothold in the console market. With 146 million units sold, the Nintendo Switch family has undeniably captured gamers’ hearts and topped charts, with more games played on it than any other Nintendo system. The extensive 59-page PDF is a treasure trove of sales stats and history, also confirming that Nintendo Switch Online, along with other services, will carry forward with the Switch 2.
For those familiar with Sony or Microsoft, this news might not be groundbreaking. Microsoft has long championed backward compatibility with its Xbox consoles, offering features like FPS Boost for older Xbox games. Sony’s journey has been a bit more winding. Since the PS3, backward compatibility has seen some restrictions, but the PS5 supports almost all PS4 games, and a selection of games from PS1 and PS2 days is available via emulation. Unfortunately, PS3 games are limited to cloud streaming on the newer systems, a point of frustration for many PlayStation fans.
Nintendo’s track record for backward compatibility was solid until the introduction of the Nintendo Switch. The Wii U allowed gamers to enjoy discs from the Wii and GameCube eras, and the Virtual Console filled many historical gaps. Similarly, the Nintendo 3DS supported DS titles, although older handheld games were left in the past. The Switch marked a shift, merging handheld and home console lines and transitioning to Arm CPU cores—this move dropped past-gen compatibility. Thankfully, the popularity of the Switch’s Nvidia-powered mobile tech means this change is here to stay, ensuring today’s Switch library will still be playable on the Switch 2.
There’s hope that the transition could also make a difference for titles previously limited by the original hardware. Games like Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom could run over 60 FPS natively, without needing third-party emulators—especially considering those, like Dolphin, could potentially emulate the Switch 2 as well.
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