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Nintendo's next-gen Switch console will be backward compatible with the Switch, the company says in its latest earnings report.
"Nintendo Switch software will...be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch," the company says. In a statement posted to X, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa added: "Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well."
"Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date," the company says. But the news means users probably won't have to rebuild their Switch games library from scratch after upgrading to the Switch 2, which is set for release by March 2025.
"We believe that it is important for Nintendo's future to make use of the Nintendo Account and carry over the good relationship that we have built with the over 100 million annual playing users on Nintendo Switch to its successor," Furukawa says.
The announcement is a big win for Switch users, but it's worth noting that Nintendo's track record with backward compatibility isn't that great. For instance, the Wii supported GameCube discs, but the Wii U could only play Wii discs.
In the meantime, Nintendo has launched a $99 alarm clock and is prepping a new MMO game.