Leave it to Nintendo to make a big announcement while all eyes are on the U.S. presidential election.

Perhaps to give us a reprieve from the doomscrolling, the Japanese gaming giant has confirmed that its successor to the Nintendo Switch, colloquially referred to as ‘Switch 2,’ will be backwards compatible with the original Switch. The news came via a statement attributed to company president Shuntaro Furukawa on the official Nintendo of Japan X (Twitter) account.

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

Furukawa says the announcement was first made during its ‘Corporate Management Policy Briefing’ today, with the news now being made public. Alongside confirmation of the Switch 2’s backwards compatibility with the Switch, Furukawa confirmed that Switch Online, the company’s online service, will carry over to the new console. “Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date,” he concluded.

Interestingly, these are the first official details we’ve gotten on the upcoming system. For years, Nintendo wouldn’t even acknowledge a Switch 2, with the company only finally acknowledging its existence in May alongside confirmation that we’d get a formal reveal before April 2025. While it had been rumoured that the so-called Switch 2 would be backwards compatible, this is the first time Nintendo has confirmed this.

Given that the Switch 2 will be able to play Switch games, it stands to reason it will also use cartridges or, at the very least, have a slot for Switch cartridges. (The Nintendo DS used thin cartridges but also had a port in which you could play the larger Game Boy Advance cartridges.) That said, it seems most likely Nintendo will just use one standardized cartridge size for the new Switch. On the other hand, Nintendo didn’t explicitly mention physical backwards compatibility, so digital support for Switch games is technically an option as well.

It’s worth noting that this news comes the same day an analyst predicted we wouldn’t get a reveal of the Switch 2 this year, given that we’re effectively in the holiday period now. Instead, the company will presumably just focus on new hardware bundles introduced last month and recent notable game releases like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree and Mario & Luigi: Brothership. 

That said, making this new statement about the Switch 2 is a great compromise. It reiterates that new hardware is coming and provides an update for eager fans while also not eating into any holiday sales for the Switch. If anything, knowing definitively that your Switch games will carry over means current and even future Switch owners can make purchases knowing they won’t be left behind with the new hardware.

Source: Nintendo