Nintendo Switch 2 Comes This Year But Will It Play Current Switch Games Too?

Closeup of Mario Kart running on a Nintendo Switch 2 console.
If you case you missed Nintendo’s big announcement this week, the company’s much-anticipated and oft-referenced Switch 2 console is finally official. However, what we got from Nintendo was a “first-look trailer” that showcased the upcoming console’s design, but it left out many explicit details such as the underlying hardware and specifications (and of course pricing). Nintendo also doubled down on saying the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with Switch 1 games, but which ones exactly?

That’s the million dollar question, and so far we don’t have a concrete answer. Nintendo did, however, share some preliminary details. Mentioned both in the trailer (shown below) and in an accompanying press release, Nintendo confirmed that the Switch 2 will play exclusive titles for the next-gen console “as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games.”

In other words, your existing games library, whether it consists of physical cards, digital downloads, or a combination of the two is not in jeopardy of being abandoned on the next-gen handheld. Not entirely and probably not much, anyway—the caveat is that “certain” Switch titles may not work properly or at all on the Switch 2.

The folks at Game File attempted to pry more details out of Nintendo and surprisingly, they were able to coax a few more details. Here’s the statement Nintendo provided when asked if it could share any information about supporting third-party titles…

Nintendo Switch is played by many consumers, and we decided that the best direction to take would be for consumers to be able to play their already purchased Nintendo Switch software on the successor to Nintendo Switch. As a result of that thinking, Nintendo Switch 2 plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.

So, it sounds as though every first-party Nintendo Switch game will run on the Switch 2 without issue. Some of the best-selling titles for the Switch include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (64.27 million units sold), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (46.45 million units), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (35.14 million units), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (32.29 million units), Super Mario Odyssey (28.5 million units), Pokemon Sword / Pokemon Shield (26.44 million units), Pokemon Scarlet / Pokemon Violet (25.69 million units), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (21.04 million units), Super Mario Party (20.98 million units), and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (17.77 million units).

Our assumption is that all of those titles as well as other first-party games will work on the Switch 2, unless Nintendo misspoke or something got lost in translation. Whether they benefit from any new tricks introduced on the Switch 2, such as upscaling, remains to be seen.

Given how successful the Switch has been with a large install base and robust developer support, we’re hopeful (and pretty confident) that most Switch games will run fine on the Switch 2. It feels more like Nintendo is covering its bases by leaving the door open for certain games not running properly or at all, and it wouldn’t surprise us if there ended up being some notable hiccups. For the most part, though, Nintendo’s statement is encouraging.