Nintendo has not officially revealed a Switch successor yetbut now we know our most important information so far. A statement from President Shintaro Furukawa in Nintendo’s latest policy briefing confirms that Nintendo Switch games, as well as Nintendo Switch Online, will be backward compatible for “Nintendo Switch 2”. But that’s not all. The company also pulled back the curtain on other plans for its system of the future.

of President Fuwukara read the full statement: “This is Furukawa. In today’s corporate governance policy briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will also be available on the successor to the Nintendo Switch. “More information about the successor to the Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with the Nintendo Switch, will be announced later.”

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This means there are still a few things to address, but anyone who has amassed a collection of nintendo switch the games will be able to carry them forward. Additionally, some Switch games will be able to be purchased directly at launch through the new system, allowing players to expand their catalog after launch. Access to Nintendo Switch Online will be completely uninterrupted.

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This is all possible thanks to the implementation of Nintendo Accounts, which were not introduced until the Switch era. These accounts allow the company to assign data and purchases to specific players, allowing for a new sense of continuity rather than “disrupting the relationship” between the company and fans of each generation.

It won’t be long before we learn more about the Switch’s successor. This policy brief included a mention of an official announcement of the next console during the current fiscal year, which began on October 1 and ends on September 30, 2025. This is not a surprise, since with two new Pokémon backstage gamesPokémon Legends: ZA and the untitled Gen-10 releases), fans have long assumed that the new console was on the way. However, the later compatibility information teaser was unexpected.

There are a growing number of older Nintendo games available to play on Switch through NSO’s classic games library, with titles from the NES, SNES, N64, Gameboy, and Gameboy Advance all revived through the service. We don’t yet know if other consoles will be included in the next era, but it’s certainly worth thinking about before any official announcement.

For now, it’s about dreaming again of what might be to come. The meeting also showed off huge growth for fan-favorite franchises in the Switch era, specifically showing how much growth Kirby, Pikmin, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Metroid have experienced since the launch of the Nintendo Switch in March 2017. Metroid Prime 4 which will be out in March (and The return of Donkey Kong Country high definition scheduled for January) there certainly seems to be an emphasis on bringing back familiar faces in 2025. Perhaps that trend will only continue with the Switch 2, but only time will tell.