While the Nintendo Switch 2 remains officially unconfirmed, the Japanese company reiterated during the gaming giant's latest investor conference call that a “successor to the Nintendo Switch” will be announced by the end of March 2025. During the same conference call, Nintendo also announced some particularly important news, stating that the Switch 2 (or whatever it will eventually be called) will be backward compatible with existing Nintendo Switch software.

Companies like Sony and Microsoft could have made a big deal about the announcement of this much-requested feature, but in classic Nintendo fashion, the company opted instead to confirm it on a single slide in its presentation. That slide read, “Nintendo Switch software will be playable on the successor to the Nintendo Switch. This is good news for Nintendo Switch owners with large game libraries, but it has not been confirmed if there will be backward compatibility with physical or digital games. Fingers crossed that it will be compatible with both.

Nintendo has also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to the Nintendo Switch. While it seemed almost certain that the company's online service would be integrated into the upcoming console, especially since Nintendo had made a big deal about creating a more unified online platform with the Nintendo Switch, it is still encouraging to see a firm confirmation. How Switch Online accounts will be transferred, and whether all current membership benefits will be maintained in Switch 2, were not addressed at this briefing.

At this stage, these tidbits are some of the most important information about the Switch 2, and almost everything else about the console, from its actual name to whether it will offer the same home console/portable hybrid design as the best-selling Nintendo Switch, is unknown. However, if it is backward compatible with the Switch's library, one can logically assume that it will not be centered around a gimmick like the Nintendo Wii's motion controls.

While the details of the Switch 2 are unclear, we have been wading through a flood of Switch 2 rumors over the past few months. Rumors have ranged from leaked reports of the upcoming console's design and specs to reports that the Switch 2 is “ready to go” and that it's only a matter of time before Nintendo hits the big red announcement button. Many in the press have publicly stated that Nintendo has big plans for October, but sadly, the month has ended only with the announcement of a new Nintendo Switch OLED bundled with a new Nintendo Switch OLED.

At this point, after many (many) unsourced rumors and dubious leaks, we are left wanting just a shred of concrete information on the Nintendo Switch 2. Let's hope that Nintendo's announcement plans are well ahead of the company's confirmed March 31, 2025 deadline. At the very least, it would be comforting to know that whatever hardware Big-N makes next, the Nintendo Switch library we have now will still be available.