Nintendo Switch successor to embrace backward compatibility, keeping gamers happy

A great day for Nintendo Switch fans – the upcoming Nintendo Switch successor (that's probably arriving in 2025) is going to be backwards compatible with the original console. So, if you're a die-hard fan of some particular Nintendo Switch 1 game, you'd be able to enjoy it on the Nintendo Switch 2. Or whatever its name will be.

This has been confirmed by Nintendo's Japanese X account:


"In today's management policy briefing, we announced that the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be compatible with Nintendo Switch software", the post says. Additionally, the company will make sure that Nintendo Switch Online will "continue to be available on the successor device". More detailed information regarding the successor will be provided "at a later date", the Nintendo team promises.

Ars Technica reports that Nintendo has also released a full policy briefing. In it, Nintendo emphasized that it believes it is important for the company's future to maintain the strong relationship built with the over 100 million active Nintendo Switch users, carrying it over to the next console. The company also clarified that, in addition to playing their existing Nintendo Switch games, consumers will be able to choose from a wide range of new titles released for the successor.

By confirming backward compatibility before revealing other details about the new hardware, Nintendo acknowledges that keeping access to thousands of Switch games is crucial for the success of its successor. With "more software played on Nintendo Switch than on any other Nintendo hardware", as noted in the briefing, this decision likely reflects the importance of maintaining continuity for gamers.

Portable Nintendo consoles, including the Game Boy and DS/3DS lines, have long offered full backward compatibility with previous generations, a trend that continued in home consoles from the GameCube to the Wii U. The Switch, however, broke from this tradition by being a hybrid system and also discontinuing access to individual downloadable Virtual Console games from previous consoles.