Right after a very telling downturn in Nintendo Switch console sales during Nintendo’s latest financial report – after which we predicted we’d be hearing more about the Switch 2 soon – Nintendo has finally given us our first details about the upcoming console.
In a tweet following the Corporate Management Policy Briefing today, Nintendo revealed that the Nintendo Switch successor, colloquially known as Switch 2, will have backwards compatibility with Nintendo Switch games. Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd, also revealed that Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the next console.
“This is Furukawa. At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch,” the tweet reads. “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 is Furukawa. At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) November 6, 2024
As you can see, Nintendo is still staying tight-lipped on the major details of the Switch’s successor, such as its name, its price, what it looks like, or when we’ll get to see it. This backwards compatibility news is the first real detail we’ve had about it, other than knowing that the Switch 2 will be officially revealed at some point prior to April 1, 2025.
It’s good news, too, since some fans had worried about a repeat of the Wii U-to-Switch transition, which necessarily – due to the change in architecture and form factor – dropped support for Wii U games. Now, we don’t know for sure that all Nintendo Switch titles will be playable on Switch 2, and there are likely a few games here and there that won’t be compatible for various reasons, but for the most part things are looking positive.
That means you can probably buy the recently announced Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster without worrying about if it’ll work on the next console. Good thing, too, since that game can span for hundreds of hours, so you’ll almost definitely be playing it for long after the Switch 2 comes out.
