Good news if you're worried about your game collection: yes, the Nintendo Switch 2 plays almost all your old Switch games. You won't have to rebuy everything or say goodbye to your favorite titles.
Your Games Just Work
Pop your old cartridges right into the Switch 2. It has a slot that accepts original Switch game cards. Already gone digital? Just sign in with your Nintendo Account and your whole library shows up ready to play.
Nintendo says about 98.7% of Switch 1 games work on the new console. That's the vast majority of the entire library. The company uses a clever translation layer that makes old games think they're running on the original hardware.
A Few Games Have Issues
There's really only one game that flat-out won't work: Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. Why? The Switch 2's bigger screen won't physically fit into the cardboard VR goggles. Fair enough.
Around 188 other games have some kind of issue. Maybe they crash at startup or have weird glitches. Games like Fortnite, Doom Eternal, and NBA 2K25 are on this list. But Nintendo and developers keep releasing patches, so this number keeps shrinking.
You can check compatibility for any specific game on Nintendo's official compatibility website.
The Nice Surprise: Games Run Better
Here's something cool: a lot of your old games actually run better on Switch 2. Faster loading, smoother frame rates, just an overall better experience thanks to the more powerful hardware.
Some games even got free upgrades. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet now look stunning at 4K/60fps on Switch 2, at no extra cost. For big titles like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo released paid enhanced versions with serious graphical improvements.
What This Means For You
Don't stress about backward compatibility. Your game collection moves with you to the Switch 2. Most of your games will work on day one, and many will actually look and play better than before.
