Nintendo Unveils a Promising Path for the Swappable Successor

Nintendo is of the opinion that “the most suitable approach” for Switch 2 is to ensure that players can “utilize their previously acquired Nintendo Switch games on the next iteration.”

In the absence of other studios coming forward to confirm they have been developing titles for Switch 2, Game File posed a question to Nintendo about which third-party developers they are partnering with. The response did not directly address the query, but offered a slight glimpse into Nintendo’s perspective on backward compatibility.

“Nintendo Switch is enjoyed by a large number of players, and we concluded that the most appropriate direction would be allowing users to access their previously purchased Nintendo Switch software on the successor to Nintendo Switch,” the company stated.

“As a result of this reasoning, Nintendo Switch 2 is compatible with Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, along with both physical and digital Nintendo Switch titles.

“Some Nintendo Switch games might not be supported on or be fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. More information will be available on the Nintendo website in the future.”

It remains unclear what “may not be fully compatible” signifies or which games might not meet the criteria. However, the statement at least suggests that Nintendo is very aware of the significance of backward compatibility for players transitioning from Switch to Switch 2. While Switch was not backward compatible with Wii or Wii U, the Wii U was backward compatible with Wii titles, just as the Nintendo 3DS was also capable of running D titles.