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Nintendo goes in-depth on Switch 2 backward compatibility

By and large, last-gen games will run smoothly on the Switch 2 — but there are some exceptions.

By and large, last-gen games will run smoothly on the Switch 2 — but there are some exceptions.

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Screenshot 2025-04-02 at 10.51.16 AM
Screenshot 2025-04-02 at 10.51.16 AM
Image: Nintendo
Chris Welch
is a former senior reviewer who worked at The Verge from 2011 until May 2025. His coverage areas included audio, home theater, smartphones, and more.

At numerous points during today’s Nintendo Switch 2 event stream, fine print at the bottom of the screen directed viewers to Nintendo’s website for the full details on which original Switch titles will be supported by the new console.

As it turns out, the company has put together a surprisingly detailed resource page that goes over all the titles it has tested thus far — both from Nintendo itself and third-party developers. And the chart below really tells the story: more often than not, last-gen games should run without any problems when the Switch 2 hits shelves on June 5th.

A chart showing backwards compatibility tests for the Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo has tested more than 15,000 third-party games.
Image: Nintendo

Even titles that we assumed might be fully incompatible — Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2-Switch, and the various Labo kit assembly games — are supported to some extent on the Switch 2 if you stick to original Joy-Cons or use other workaround methods that Nintendo spells out. At least for the time being, there’s only one game that just plain won’t work, and that’s the VR Labo kit. I don’t think anyone can really fault Nintendo for that.

The company also divides “games with startup issues” — Doom Eternal, Rocket League, NBA 2K25, and Warframe are among these — and “games that are playable, but have some in-game compatibility issues” into separate lists. “Nintendo is continuing to improve compatibility, including by working with publishing and developing partners,” the company notes on its site. That work will no doubt continue right up until the console’s release in early June.

Separately, Nintendo has also revealed which original Switch titles will be getting upgrades via future patches. These include Arms, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Super Mario Odyssey, and more.

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