Nintendo's president, Shuntaro Furukawa, confirmed that the successor to the Switch console will be backward compatible with original Switch software and the Switch Online service.
"At today's corporate governance policy presentation, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will be playable on the successor to the Nintendo Switch console," Furukawa wrote on X. "Switch Online will also be available on the new console. Further information about the successor, including compatibility with Switch games, will be released later."
Nintendo briefly mentioned this last year when Doug Bowser from Nintendo of America stated that the unique "Nintendo Account" would simplify the transition to the new console. The Switch has not had traditional backward compatibility so far as it transitioned from discs to cartridges. It is still unclear whether the Switch 2 will have a dedicated slot for cartridges for Switch games or will rely on digital compatibility like the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Entering its eighth year on the market, Switch sales have begun to slow down, and the announcement of a new device is expected in the next five months. So far, 140 million consoles and over a billion games have been sold, and Nintendo has stated that hardware sales remain stable.
