Nintendo Switch 2 confirms backwards compatibility: can you play games from the first Switch?

The Nintendo Switch 2 is now official. The Japanese company has presented the successor to Nintendo Switch through a short trailer that details some of the features of the new console, among which highlights its backward compatibility. This means that the video games of the first Switch will also work on the Switch 2, although with some nuances. In this text, we go on to detail everything that is known about this expected feature:

Nintendo Switch 2 announces its backward compatibility with the first Switch: can you play the entire catalog?

The official trailer of Nintendo Switch 2 was presented on Thursday, January 16, 2025, and in it, in addition to being able to preview what the new Nintendo console to be launched in 2025 looks like, has also confirmed one of its most anticipated features: backward compatibility. Thus, the Japanese company has revealed that, as claimed by some rumors prior to the announcement, Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to use video games from the first Nintendo Switch.

Of course, Nintendo warns that this compatibility has certain nuances that will be revealed in detail in the future. While it advances that the compatibility of games from the first Switch on Nintendo Switch 2 applies to both physical games in game card format and digital titles, it is possible that compatibility does not extend to 100% of the catalog of the previous console and there may be certain exceptions, such as partial or total incompatibilities depending on certain features such as the use of gyroscope or motion control.

Backward compatibility is a great advantage for the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 because it dramatically expands the catalog of titles available from day one. It is also a feature that allows players who already own many titles from the first Switch to continue using them on the Nintendo Switch 2 without having to use each specific machine to play their own games. Given the large number of Nintendo Switch consoles worldwide - the most recent official figure puts it at around 146 million - the addition of backwards compatibility to the new console was a move that many took for granted and has finally been confirmed.

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It is unknown at this time if Nintendo Switch 2 Backward Compatibility will offer graphical or performance enhancements like the original Xbox and Xbox 360 enhanced games on consoles in the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. If so, this additional feature could give a second life to some of the system’s most prominent titles, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey.

In any case, this news, along with the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2 itself as a direct successor to the previous machine, highlights the great legacy that the first Nintendo Switch has left in the video game industry. With the Switch 2, Nintendo hopes to take the “Switch experience” even further, combining portable and desktop gaming that has managed to bring together many different gamer profiles.

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