Switch 2 Will Play Switch 1 Games, Nintendo Confirms

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has confirmed that the Switch successor will be backward compatible with the original Switch console "software" and the Switch Online service, and he added that specific details will be revealed at a later date.

"At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch," Furukawa wrote on X. "Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date."

This has been something that Nintendo briefly touched on last year, as Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser added that a single unified "Nintendo Account" will smooth the transition into the next console. The Switch hasn't featured traditional backward compatibility since it launched, as it shifted from the disc format of the Wii and Wii U consoles back to cartridges. It's not clear yet if the Switch 2 will have a dedicated cartridge port for original Switch games, or if it'll implement a similar backward compatibility approach toward downloads of digitally purchased games like on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

As it enters its eighth year, sales of the Switch have begun slowing down and an official announcement on it is expected within the next five months. 140 million systems and more than 1 billion Switch games have been sold so far, and Nintendo said in its latest earnings result that hardware sales continue to remain stable. Nintendo stock has also been on the rebound--shares fell yesterday after Nintendo revised its sales forecast and confirmed that Switch sales were starting to slow down--increasing by 5.8% on November 6.

As for when exactly the Switch 2 will be revealed, analysts predict that it won't be this year as Nintendo wants to avoid diverting attention from its current system before it heads into the lucrative holiday season.