Leaker announces update on key feature of Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch with backwards compatibility, a well-known leaker has said. This claim joins a growing list of insider reports suggesting that the Switch successor will be able to play its predecessor’s games.

Although the Switch isn’t compatible with the Wii U library, Nintendo has historically shown its willingness to offer backwards compatibility, at least as far as iterative hardware generations go. This is reflected in the fact that the Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS all launched with some level of support for their immediate predecessors’ game catalogs. Given the enormous amount of Switch content released since 2017, many industry observers have long argued that backwards compatibility is essentially a requirement for the Switch 2.

Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatibility is now a given, claims leaker

Nintendo is indeed planning to make its console backwards compatible, according to YouTuber and established leaker NateTheHate, who said so in a Reddit comment on September 4. Although the insider did not elaborate further on the matter, this claim serves as an update to one of his reports from early 2024, in which he stated that Nintendo has been in the process of testing the Switch 2’s backwards compatibility since February. The leaker also said that the yet-to-be-announced console’s Switch library support had already been demoed to Nintendo’s developer partners at the time.

The first demonstration of the console’s backward compatibility may have taken place no later than August 2023, when Nintendo is said to have held a closed presentation at Gamescom in which the Switch successor with Breath of the Wild in 4K resolution and 60 frames per second. Second-hand reports of this alleged private partner demo were subsequently shared by several leakers, including NateTheHate. Nintendo did not have a presence at Gamescom 2024, which some industry observers interpreted as the company wanting to avoid further leaks of this nature as the official reveal of its next console draws ever closer.

Speaking of which, the Japanese gaming giant has already confirmed that the Switch 2 will be announced before the end of the current fiscal year, which runs until the end of March 2025. Given that and recent rumors that mass production of the console is set to begin in September, its unveiling could be imminent. To clarify, unannounced consumer electronics have been extremely prone to factory floor leaks in the past, meaning Nintendo likely wants to unveil the Switch 2 before mass production begins.

Company president Shuntaro Furukawa said in May it would be accurate to call the upcoming device the “next” Switch model, meaning the console will retain the hybrid form factor of its 2017 predecessor. Such cross-generational similarities are likely good news for consumers, at least in the sense that they make it easier for the Switch 2 to offer backwards compatibility.