Backwards compatibility for Nintendo’s next console has been confirmed
Yep, Nintendo has officially confirmed that its upcoming, as yet unnamed console, will be backward compatible with existing Switch games.
This much-welcomed announcement about the upcoming Switch successor was made during the company’s recent Corporate Management Policy Briefing — where current company President Shuntaro Furukawa stated that Nintendo Switch software will be playable on the new Switch 2 (or whatever they call it).
This move will ensure that players can continue to enjoy the (sometimes vast) game libraries they’ve built up over the past eight years.
“At today's Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch”. — Shuntaro Furukawa
Additionally, Furukawa also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online services will carry over to the new console.
Yes, any further specific details about the new hardware still remain under wraps, but this fresh commitment to backward compatibility — although broadly expected, will now put many minds at rest.
These details from Furukawa are also our biggest tell yet that Nintendo will in fact be taking a safer, more iterative approach with the hardware of Switch 2. No big revolutions here — though knowing Nintendo, there will likely be a twist of some sort.
Anyway, these announcements are a real smart move, and should make the transition to what’s next fairly seamless for Switch owners. Not only that, but a console with a library of well over 10,000 games available on day one? Good stuff.