Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has explained the decision to make the Switch 2 backward compatible with old software.

Nintendo hasn’t announced its Switch successor yet, but we do know one thing for sure: it will be able to play current Switch games and have carryover for your Nintendo Switch Online services and account. The news was announced during Nintendo’s midyear policy briefing, with further information promised “at a later date.”

"At today's Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch," Nintendo posted in a social media update attributed to company president Shintaro Furukawa. "Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well."

During its latest financial results, Nintendo revealed some more details about the successor to the Nintendo Switch. Specifically, Nintendo confirmed that people will be able to play their Nintendo Switch games on the new system.

There's good news if you've got a huge Switch library, as the Nintendo Switch 2 will officially be backwards compatible with old games.

While the Switch 2 may be backwards compatible, Nintendo would not confirm whether we'll still be able to use our old cartridges.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will officially be backwards compatible. Yes, on a night when many Americans (and probably a good number of people worldwide) were glued to social media to see how a different red-and-blue tinged story would turn out,