You don't have to take great pains to preserve your Switch to ensure that you can still play your favorite games on it years and years from now. Nintendo has revealed in its earnings report that the upcoming successor to the Switch will have backwards compatibility and will be able to run games made for the current console.

The Nintendo Switch successor doesn't have a name or release date yet, but its library already has thousands of games in it: The company has officially announced that the successor system will play your existing Switch games.

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

"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."

In a corporate briefing, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 will be backward compatible with games made for the original Switch.

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.”

According to an earlier leak, the Switch 2 reportedly has a card slot. However, the message doesn’t confirm the new Switch will be able to play physical Switch games. The message from Nintendo says, “Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date.”

Nintendo has yet to reveal the Switch 2 but it's most certainly on the way with a planned release sometime in early 2025, and there's one question that

Backwards compatibility between the Nintendo Switch 2 and its predecessor has been confirmed. In an announcement early this morning, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that "at today's corporate management policy briefing,

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

Nintendo first announced the new Switch 2 feature at its Corporate Management Policy Briefing, as one does, and then tweeted out confirmation of the fact that the new console will be backward compatible with the games from the original one: “This is Furukawa.