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Backwards compatibility. It’s one of those phrases that sparks hope—and sometimes heartbreak—for anyone upgrading their hardware. So now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is officially on the horizon (or already in your hands), the question on everyone’s mind is simple: Can it play my Switch 1 games?
The answer? Mostly yes. But with a few asterisks, a couple caveats, and some games that flat-out won’t work.
The Switch 2 isn’t just a slightly beefier Switch—it’s running new hardware under the hood. And that’s where things get interesting. Not every game plays nice with the system yet.
To help players know what to expect, Nintendo has published ongoing compatibility reports, breaking down which games are having issues and why. These aren’t full QA runs—they’re “start-up and limited testing,” meaning unexpected bugs could still be found.
The compatibility falls into a few categories, which we’ve outlined above.
Quick Summary
| Category | Description | Example Titles |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Fully Compatible | Works without issues | Almost all Nintendo-developed games, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey |
| ⚠️ Minor Issues | Works but has glitches or reduced features | Fall Guys, Mega Man Legacy Collection |
| ❌ Startup Failures | Doesn’t launch or load on Switch 2 | Dead by Daylight, Rocket League |
| 🕹 Requires Joy-Con | Needs original Joy-Cons for full play | Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2-Switch! |
| 🚫 Not Playable | Fully incompatible | Labo VR Kit |
🟢 The Good News First: Most Games Do Work
Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch 2 can play compatible physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. In fact, for most titles, you’ll barely notice a difference. Pop in your cartridge or boot up your digital library, and you’re good to go.
However, “compatible” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
🔴 Some Games Don’t Start At All
These are the titles currently known to have startup issues on the Switch 2. Nintendo is actively investigating these, often in coordination with developers and publishers. Expect this list to shrink over time as updates roll out.
📋 Click to expand list of currently incompatible games
| Game Title | Publisher |
| 112 Operator | SONKA |
| A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection | Ziggurat |
| Abyss Memory Fallen Angel and the Path of Magic | Byking |
| ACA NEOGEO ART OF FIGHTING 2 | HAMSTER |
| ACA NEOGEO SAMURAI SHODOWN II | HAMSTER |
| ACA NEOGEO THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’95 | HAMSTER |
| ACA NEOGEO THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’96 | HAMSTER |
| Airhead | HandyGames |
| Alchemy Garden | JanduSoft |
| Another Crab’s Treasure | Aggro Crab Games |
| Arcade Archives Burger Time | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives CRIME CITY | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives DIG DUG | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives GRADIUS III | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives NEW RALLY-X | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives PAC-LAND | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives XEVIOUS | HAMSTER |
| Astral Flux | Mindscape |
| Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly | Dogmelon Games |
| Batman: The Enemy Within | TellTale |
| Beyond the Ice Palace II | PQube |
| Boot Hill Bounties | Experimental Gamer Studios |
| Boot Hill Heroes | Experimental Gamer Studios |
| Botany Manor | Whitethorn Digital |
| Bus Simulator 2023: City Driver | GameToTop.CC |
| Cats Hidden in Italy | Travellin Cats |
| キャッツ・オン・デューティー (Cats On Duty) | ESDigital Games |
| Crazy Strike Bowling EX | CORECELL |
| Dadish 2 | Thomas K Young |
| Darksiders Genesis | THQ Nordic |
| Dead by Daylight | Behaviour Interactive |
| Death Coming | Postmeta Games |
| DOOM: Eternal | Bethesda |
| Eggy Party | NetEase Games |
| ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist | Binary Haze Interactive |
| Everdream Valley | Untold Tales |
| EVERSPACE™ | ROCKFISH Games |
| Fables Mosaic: Snow White | Ocean Media |
| Felix the Cat | KONAMI |
| fig. | Take IT Studio! |
| FINAL FANTASY | SQUARE ENIX |
| Floor Kids | MERJ Media |
| FRAMED Collection | Fellow Traveller |
| Gal Guardians: Demon Purge | Inti Creates |
| Gang Beasts | Boneloaf |
| Gas Guzzlers Extreme | Funbox Media |
| GRID™ Autosport | Codemasters |
| Guns Gore and Cannoli | Rogueside |
| I Got Isekai’d Into A Shmup | TOMAGameStudio |
| Inferno 2 | 2Awesome Studio |
| Island Flight Simulator | Joindots |
| Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection | Limited Run Games |
| Kids vs Parents | MAXIMUM ENT FRANCE |
| Kill la Kill – IF | ARC SYSTEM WORKS |
| Korean Drone Flying Tour Jeju Island-1 | 14Dimension |
| Kosmokrats | Modern Wolf |
| Library Of Ruina | ARC SYSTEM WORKS |
| Little Nightmares™ Complete Edition | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment |
| Manticore – Galaxy on Fire | PLAION |
| Mexican Train Dominoes Gold | Glowing Eye Games |
| Monster Loves You Too! | Radial Games |
| MODEL Debut #nicola | FURYU Corporation |
| Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame | Milestone |
| MUSYNX | PM Studios |
| NASCAR Rivals | Motorsport Games |
| NBA 2K18 | 2K |
| NBA 2K25 | 2K |
| Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet | ASHGAMES |
| Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition | Beamdog |
| Nobody Saves the World | DrinkBox Studios |
| Nova-111 | No Gravity Games |
| Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath | Oddworld Inhabitants |
| OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes | Cartoon Network Games |
| OMG Police – Car Chase TV Simulator | RedDeer.Games |
| Onigo Hunter | KEMCO |
| Palia | Singularity 6 |
| Perseverance: Complete Edition | Feardemic |
| Pineview Drive | UIG Entertainment |
| Pizza Tower | Tour De Pizza |
| Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ | Electronic Arts |
| Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX | NIS America |
| Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles | NIS America |
| RiMS Racing | Nacon |
| River City Girls Zero | WayForward |
| Rocket League® | Epic Games |
| Roller Champions™ | Ubisoft |
| Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited | NIS America |
| Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-a-fide Edition | Golem Entertainment |
| Slayin 2 | FDG Entertainment |
| Soul Dog TD | Waku Waku Games |
| South of the Circle | 11 bit studios |
| South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™ | Ubisoft |
| Sportitions’24 | FuriouSoftPhoenix |
| STAR WARS™ Episode I: Racer | Aspyr |
| STAR WARS™: Dark Forces Remaster | Nightdive Studios |
| Strania -The Stella Machina- EX | G.rev |
| Summer Pockets | 株式会社プロトタイプ |
| Super Mega Baseball 3 | Electronic Arts |
| Super Neptunia RPG | Idea Factory |
| Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment |
| TAITO MILESTONES | ININ Games |
| The Cube | Funbox Media |
| The Jackbox Party Pack | Jackbox Games |
| The Jackbox Party Pack 2 | Jackbox Games |
| The Journey Down Trilogy | BlitWorks |
| The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition | Devolver Digital |
| Touhou Gouyoku Ibun ～ Sunken Fossil World. | Phoenixx |
| Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes | Grasshopper Manufacture |
| Tricky Towers | WeirdBeard |
| Trip World DX | SUNSOFT |
| トラブル☆ウィッチーズ ふぁいなる！ | 株式会社ロケットエンジン |
| Trove | gamigo US |
| Trover Saves the Universe | Squanch Games |
| TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 | Nacon |
| UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe: Late[cl-r] | Aksys Games |
| Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi | Aksys Games |
| V-Rally 4 | Nacon |
| Warface: Clutch | MY.GAMES |
| Warframe | Digital Extremes |
| Warp Shift | Kyrkudden |
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | Microids |
| Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | Bethesda |
| WolfFang 空牙2001 SkullFang 空牙外伝 Saturn Tribute Boosted | City Connection |
| World of Tanks Blitz | Wargaming Group |
| Xtreme Sports | WayForward |
| Victor Vran Overkill Edition | HaemimontGames |
| ガレリアの地下迷宮と魔女ノ旅団 | 日本一ソフトウェア |
| クローズド・ナイトメア | Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. |
| この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！～希望の迷宮と 集いし冒険者たち～Plus | ENTERGRAM |
| SENRAN KAGURA Reflexions | Marvelous (XSEED) |
| Star Melody Yumemi Dreamer | 株式会社工画堂ｽﾀｼﾞｵ |
| ファミリートレーナー 株式会社バンダイナムコエンターテインメン | ト |
| ベイブレードバースト バトルゼロ | フリュー株式会社 / FURYU CORPORATION |
| Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon | KOEI TECMO AMERICA |
| 黄泉ヲ裂ク華 | EXPERIENCE.inc |
| Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute | Clear River Games |
| Process of Elimination | NIS America |
| Tokyo Xanadu eX+ | Aksys Games |
| 明治活劇 ハイカラ流星組 －成敗しませう、世 直し稼業－ | アイディアファクトリー株式会社 |
🟡 Some Games Start, But Don’t Play Perfectly
These games do launch on Switch 2, but they’ve got in-game compatibility issues—think graphical glitches, controller mishaps, or features that don’t work quite right. These may still be playable, but they’re not performing at 100%.
📋 Click to expand list of games with in-game issues
| Game Title | Publisher |
| Alan Wake Remastered | Epic Games |
| Alien: Isolation | SEGA EUR |
| Arcade Archives ORDYNE | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives PHELIOS | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives TETRIS THE ABSOLUTE THE GRAND MASTER 2 PLUS | HAMSTER |
| Arcade Archives TETRIS THE GRAND MASTER | HAMSTER |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | Gameloft |
| Dadish | Thomas K Young |
| Dex | QubicGames |
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | Humble Hearts |
| Elderand | Graffiti Games |
| Factorio | Wube Software |
| Fall Guys | Epic Games |
| Family Chess | RedDeer.Games |
| Games Advent Calendar 25 Days 25 Surprises | Mindscape |
| Godlike Burger | Daedalic Entertainment |
| HARVESTELLA | SQUARE ENIX |
| HITMAN 3 Cloud Version | IO Interactive |
| HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ | Milestone |
| JUST DANCE® 2019 | Ubisoft |
| Klondike Solitaire | Baltoro Minis |
| Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | Asteroid Base |
| Matchpoint Tennis Championships | KalypsoMediaGroup |
| Mega Man Legacy Collection | CAPCOM |
| MotoGP™21 | Milestone |
| My Brother Rabbit | Forever Entertainment |
| Noir Chronicles: City of Crime | Artifex Mundi |
| Overcooked! All You Can Eat | Team17 |
| Pocoyo Party | RECOTECHNOLOGY |
| Port Royale 4 | KalypsoMediaGroup |
| Raiden IV×MIKADO remix | UFO Interactive |
| Real Car Driving Simulator & Parking 2022 Games | PublishMe |
| S.N.I.P.E.R. Hunter Scope | Baltoro Games |
| Saints Row IV®: Re Elected™ | PLAION |
| SmileBASIC 4 | SmileBoom |
| Steven Universe: Save The Light | Cartoon Network Games |
| Street Fighter™ 30th Anniversary Collection | CAPCOM |
| Stumble Guys | Scopely |
| うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪All Star for Nintendo Switch | 株式会社ブロッコリー |
| うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪Amazing Aria & Sweet Serenade LOVE for Nintendo Switch | 株式会社ブロッコリー |
| うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪Debut for Nintendo Switch | 株式会社ブロッコリー |
| うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪Repeat LOVE for Nintendo Switch | 株式会社ブロッコリー |
| ニコニコ | 株式会社ドワンゴ |
| Pilot Sports | Z Software |
| ぷるきゃらフレンズ～ほっぺちゃんとサンリオキャラクタ ズ～ | ネオス株式会社 |
| 時計仕掛けのレイライン 陽炎に彷徨う魔女 | dramatic create |
| Neptunia X SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars | Idea Factory |
🟡 Some Games Are Being Patched
A few high-profile games have been flagged as problematic but are already slated for updates. These fixes are coming soon, and Nintendo has stated that improvements are actively being developed.
📋 Click to expand list of games with known issues that are scheduled to be fixed
| Game Title | Publisher | Status |
| Fortnite | Epic Games | A Nintendo Switch 2 version is planned |
| Fitness Boxing | Nintendo | Planned to be resolved via an update |
🟡 Joy-Con Compatibility: A Bigger Issue Than Expected
The Switch 2 ships with Joy-Con 2 controllers—similar in shape to the originals but with some key differences. Namely, they’re missing the IR Motion Camera found in the right Joy-Con (R) of the original Switch, and they don’t fit into certain accessories like the Ring-Con or the Labo kits.
This means that some games are literally unplayable with Joy-Con 2 unless you connect older Joy-Cons wirelessly. Nintendo even warns that you’ll need a Switch 1 console or charging grip to keep those older Joy-Cons juiced.
📋 Click to expand list of games that require Joy-Con 1 controllers to play on Switch 2
| Game Title | Publisher | Status |
| Ring Fit Adventure | Nintendo | Joy-Con 2 incompatible with Ring-Con and leg strap; requires original Joy-Con |
| 1-2-Switch™ | Nintendo | Requires Joy-Con (R) with IR Motion Camera for certain games |
| Everybody 1-2-Switch!™ | Nintendo | Reduced force feedback on Joy-Con 2 affects gameplay |
| Game Builder Garage™ | Nintendo | IR features only work with Joy-Con (R); Joy-Con 2 lacks IR camera |
| Nintendo Switch™ Sports | Nintendo | Joy-Con 2 incompatible with leg strap for Soccer Shoot-Out |
| WarioWare™: Move It! | Nintendo | Requires Joy-Con (R) for IR-based microgames |
| Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit | Nintendo | Switch 2 cannot be used with original Toy-Con accessories |
| Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 02: Robot Kit | Nintendo | Joy-Con 2 cannot attach to Toy-Con Robot; use original Joy-Con |
| Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit | Nintendo | Switch 2 cannot be placed in included screen stand |
🔴 One Game That Simply Won’t Work
Among the exceptions is Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit, which is officially not playable on the Switch 2 at all. The VR goggles require inserting the Switch into the headset—something the Switch 2’s form factor doesn’t allow.
That’s a rare hard “no” in Nintendo’s compatibility guidance.
So, Is the Switch 2 Really Backwards Compatible?
It is—but not unconditionally.
If you’re a casual player with a digital library of major titles, you’ll likely be just fine. But if you’ve got a closet full of Labo kits, accessories like the Ring-Con, or a love for lesser-known indies, you’ll want to check compatibility before tossing out your original Switch.
Nintendo is being transparent about these limitations, promising updates and publishing detailed breakdowns. And given how much is already working, it’s clear the company is serious about making the transition as smooth as possible.
But for now? Keep those original Joy-Cons close. You might still need them.
Check back in May. Nintendo has promised more updates, and we’ll keep this page current with every change. Bookmark it—and share with any Switch fans who might be upgrading.
FAQ: Nintendo Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility
How backwards compatible is the Nintendo Switch 2 with Nintendo Switch games?
The Nintendo Switch 2 is backwards compatible with the majority of Nintendo Switch games, both physical and digital. However, due to differences in hardware, some games do not start properly, have in-game compatibility issues, or require specific accessories like the original Joy-Con controllers.
Can the Nintendo Switch 2 play all Nintendo Switch games without issues?
No. While most Nintendo Switch games work on Switch 2, some have startup issues or show bugs during gameplay. Nintendo has categorized and published lists of affected titles. Additionally, compatibility testing is ongoing, and updates may resolve some of these problems over time.
Are there any Nintendo Switch games that do not work at all on Nintendo Switch 2?
Yes. Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit is one game that cannot be played on Nintendo Switch 2 due to the console’s inability to physically fit into the required accessory (the VR Goggles).
Which Nintendo Switch games require original Joy-Con controllers to function on Switch 2?
Several games depend on features missing from the new Joy-Con 2 controllers, such as the IR Motion Camera. Titles like Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2-Switch!, and Nintendo Switch Sports require original Joy-Cons for full functionality.
Is Nintendo planning updates for Switch 1 games with issues on Switch 2?
Yes. Nintendo has confirmed that some Switch 1 games with compatibility problems are planned to be addressed through updates. Titles like Fortnite and Fitness Boxing are among those that will receive fixes.
Will Joy-Con 2 controllers work with Nintendo Switch Labo accessories?
In most cases, no. Joy-Con 2 controllers don’t fit properly in many of the original Toy-Con accessories, including those in the Variety Kit, Robot Kit, and Vehicle Kit. Full compatibility usually requires the original Joy-Con models.
When is the next update on Nintendo Switch 2 compatibility expected?
Nintendo last updated the compatibility list on April 15, 2025, and the next update is planned for May. Compatibility status may change as testing continues and new patches are released.