Nintendo Confirms Free Switch 2 Enhancements for Select Switch 1 Games
Nintendo has revealed that several Nintendo Switch 1 games will receive free performance updates when played on the upcoming Switch 2. Launching globally on June 5, 2025, the Switch 2 will support enhanced versions of select existing titles, offering visual upgrades, smoother performance, and new features.
These updates will be available at no extra cost and are set to go live alongside the console’s release. Nintendo confirmed that the Switch 2 will support most Switch 1 games through backwards compatibility, with some benefiting from automatic performance boosts. However, a curated list of first-party titles will receive full optimization updates.
Confirmed Games Receiving Free Switch 2 Enhancements:
- ARMS – Optimized visuals, frame rate improvements, HDR support
- Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain – GameShare and GameChat for up to four players
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Optimized visuals, HDR, multiplayer GameShare and GameChat
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics – GameShare and GameChat across 34 games
- Game Builder Garage – Visual upgrades, new Joy-Con 2 mouse support
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – Visual improvements
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – Optimized visuals and frame rate
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – Visual and frame rate upgrades, HDR in Bowser’s Fury, GameShare and GameChat
- Super Mario Odyssey – Visual upgrades, HDR, GameShare and GameChat for two players
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Visual upgrades and HDR
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – Visual upgrades and HDR
Nintendo emphasized that these enhancements are primarily for its own titles. Updates for third-party games will depend on individual publishers. Additionally, some Switch 1 games, like Breath of the Wild and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, are getting full Switch 2 Editions, while others may benefit from better performance simply by running on the new hardware.
With the Switch 2 just weeks away, Nintendo is aiming to give early adopters more reasons to upgrade while maintaining strong support for legacy content.
