The Nintendo Switch 2 will run original Switch games with performance enhancements, but backwards compatibility will not be supported for all titles.
During the new “Ask the Developers” feature on the official Nintendo website, Takuhiro Dohta, Senior Director of Entertainment Planning and Development Department at Nintendo, was asked whether there would be potential scenarios where playing Switch games on Switch 2 would enhance the gameplay experience. In response, he confirmed that this would indeed be the case.
Dohta mentioned that when the team at Nintendo tried running Switch games on Switch 2, there were some where loading times became faster, or game performance became more stable. As such, he realized that the overall gameplay experience could improve. In addition, he said that the new social feature, GameChat, will also be available for Switch games that are played on Switch 2. As such, he stated that here are opportunities to add value to previously released games in the sense that the Switch 2 can enhance and change the gameplay experience. That said, he highlighted the fact that people buy new hardware so they can play new games created specifically for it, and the Switch 2 has been developed with that in mind.
Nintendo also shared the complete the Switch 2 backwards compatibility list on its official website. As seen in the screenshot above, of the 122 Nintendo first-party games tested, only a small percentage of titles face problems booting up on the new console. Games like Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2-Switch, Everybody 1-2-Switch!, Game Builder Garage, Nintendo Switch Sports, WarioWare: Move It!, and Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit can’t be played with the Joy-Con 2 controllers that are included with Nintendo Switch 2. Users who have Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers and connect them wirelessly to Nintendo Switch 2 can play these games as they would on Nintendo Switch. As for the 15,000 or so third-party titles, close to 80% can be booted up, but further testing is underway. The backwards compatibility page will be updated later this month.
The complete list of Nintendo Switch games with startup issues on Switch 2 can be seen here, while the list of Nintendo Switch games that startup on Switch 2, but include some in-game compatibility issues can be found here.
