The Nintendo Switch successor will reportedly support backwards compatibility. A gaming industry insider claimed earlier this week that the Switch 2 would support playing games released on the previous-generation console. Nintendo confirmed earlier this year that the Switch 2 would be announced next year. The company has yet to provide any official details about the upcoming console or potential backwards compatibility.
Nintendo Switch Backwards Compatibility 2
The information comes from tipster Nate the Hate (as spotted by VGC), who has a history of leaking accurate information about games and consoles. In a reply to a Reddit post about the Nintendo Switch 2, the tipster claimed: “It has backwards compatibility.”
The tipster's claim is in line with previous reports that the Switch would come with backwards compatibility. A third-party Switch peripheral maker had said in April that the Nintendo Switch 2 would support backwards compatibility for both physical and digital games.
The latest Reddit post mentioned rumors about a Switch 2 update that could be coming in September. The Reddit post was based on industry analyst David Gibson’s post on X from Wednesday, which claimed that the Nintendo Switch 2 was likely in production and an update to the upcoming console was expected this month.
“No one seems to have noticed that Nintendo assembler Hosiden is spending ¥2 billion on production equipment and ¥1 billion on automation in fiscal 2025 for its largest entertainment customer (Nintendo). I’m still waiting for news in September and the release of the next device in March 2025,” Gibson said in his post.
In May, Nintendo confirmed that it would announce a successor to the Nintendo Switch during the fiscal year ending in March 2025. The company also said it expected to sell 13.5 million Switch units in the current fiscal year. Nintendo has already announced new games for the Nintendo Switch as the iconic console enters its final years. A new The Legend of Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, is set to release on the Switch later this year.
Last month, GamesIndustry.biz claimed that developers had been told that they did not expect the Nintendo Switch 2 to arrive in the current fiscal year. According to the report, developers were expecting the console to arrive in April or May 2025.