Nintendo has released a laundry list of games that, for one reason or another, won’t work on the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s been known for some time now that the Switch 2 would have some measure of backwards compatibility, but during the April 2 Nintendo Direct, we learned all the details. Some games, like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, will be getting full-scale, paid Switch 2 upgrades, with new features and better performance. Others will be getting free updates that allow for better performance and GameShare multiplayer.
But there are some games that just don’t work on the Switch 2 as of yet. While Nintendo is working on fixes for many of them, some games appear to be fundamentally incompatible with the Switch 2. Still others will be playable on the upgraded console, but only with original Joy-Cons connected. Here’s a full rundown of every game currently having compatibility issues with the Switch 2, and a look at what Nintendo is doing to fix the problem.
All Switch Games With Switch 2 Compatibility Issues
Every Switch Game You Can’t Play On Switch 2 (Yet)
The following table lists all games with startup issues on the Switch 2. For one reason or another, these games simply won’t open on the Switch 2 at all, at least not in their current state. Nintendo claims it’s actively looking into solutions for every game on this list, except one, which we’ll explain below.
- 112 Operator
- A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection
- Abyss Memory Fallen Angel and the Path of Magic
- ACA NeoGeo Art of Fighting 2
- ACA NeoGeo Samurai Shodown II
- ACA NeoGeo The King of Fighters ’95
- ACA NeoGeo The King of Fighters ’96
- Airhead
- Alchemy Garden
- Another Crab’s Treasure
- Arcade Archives Burger Time
- Arcade Archives Crime City
- Arcade Archives Dig Dug
- Arcade Archives Gradius III
- Arcade Archives New Rally-X
- Arcade Archives Pac-Land
- Arcade Archives Xevious
- Astral Flux
- Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly
- Batman: The Enemy Within
- Beyond the Ice Palace 2
- Boot Hill Bounties
- Boot Hill Heroes
- Botany Manor
- Bus Simulator 2023: City Driver
- Cats Hidden in Italy
- Cats on Duty
- Crazy Strike Bowling EX
- Dadish 2
- Darksiders Genesis
- Dead by Daylight
- Death Coming
- DOOM: Eternal
- Eggy Party
- Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
- Everdream Valley
- Everspace
- Fables Mosaic: Snow White
- Felix the Cat
- fig.
- Final Fantasy
- Fitness Boxing
- Floor Kids
- Fortnite
- FRAMED Collection
- Gal Guardians: Demon Purge
- Gang Beasts
- Gas Guzzlers Extreme
- GRID Autosport
- Guns Gore and Cannoli
- I Got Isekai’d Into A Shmup
- Inferno 2
- Island Flight Simulator
- Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection
- Kids vs Parents
- Kill la Kill – IF
- Korean Drone Flying Tour Jeju Island-1
- Kosmokrats
- Library of Ruina
- Little Nightmares Complete Edition
- Manticore – Galaxy on Fire
- Mexican Train Dominoes Gold
- Monster Loves You Too!
- MODEL Debut #nicola
- Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame
- MUSYNX
- NASCAR Rivals
- NBA 2K18
- NBA 2K25
- Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet
- Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
- Nobody Saves the World
- Nova-111
- Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
- OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes
- OMG Police – Car Chase TV Simulator
- Onigo Hunter
- Palia
- Perserverance: Complete Edition
- Pineview Drive
- Pizza Tower
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
- Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX
- Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles
- RiMS Racing
- River City Girls Zero
- Rocket League
- Roller Champions
- Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City Revisited
- Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-a-fide Edition
- Slayin 2
- Soul Dog TD
- South of the Circle
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole
- Sportitions’24
- Star Wars Episode I: Racer
- Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster
- Strania – The Stella Machina – EX
- Summer Pockets
- Super Mega Baseball 3
- Super Neptunia RPG
- Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival
- Taito Milestones
- The Cube
- The Jackbox Party Pack
- The Jackbox Party Pack 2
- The Journey Down Trilogy
- The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition
- Touhou Gouyoku Ibun ~ Sunken Fossil World.
- Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
- Tricky Towers
- Trip World DX
- Trouble Witches Final!
- Trove
- Trover Saves the Universe
- TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3
- Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r]
- Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi
- V-Rally 4
- Warface: Clutch
- Warframe
- Warp Shift
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
- Wolfenstein 2: The New Colussus
- WolfFang 空牙2001 SkullFang 空牙外伝 Saturn Tribute Boosted
- World of Tanks Blitz
- Xtreme Sports
- Victor Vran Overkill Edition
- Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society
- Closed Nightmare
- Konosuba: Labyrinth of Hope and the Gathering Adventurers Plus
- Senran Kagura Reflexions
- Star Melody Yumemi Dreamer
- Family Trainer
- Beyblade Burst: Battle Zero
- Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon
- Undernauts Labyrinth of Yomi
- Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute
- Process of Elimination
- Tokyo Xanadu eX+
- Meiji Katsugeki Haikara Ryuuseigumi -Seibai Shimaseu, Yonaoshi Kagyou-
The only game on this list that doesn’t have a fix in the works is Fortnite, which has a Switch 2 version planned. This list is likely to shrink over time as Nintendo finds new fixes to make more of these games work.
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Another outlier is Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit, which won’t be playable on the Switch 2 at all. The issue is that the Switch 2 is too big to fit into the Toy-Con VR headset, so it isn’t expected to be playable on the console at all.
Next, here’s a list of games that are currently playable on the Switch 2, but suffer some compatibility issues. Nintendo is working on fixes for all of the below.
- Alan Wake Remastered
- Alien: Isolation
- Arcade Archives Ordyne
- Arcade Archives Phelios
- Arcade Archives Tetris The Absolute The Grand Master 2 Plus
- Arcade Archives Tetris The Grand Master
- Asphalt Legends Unite
- Dadish
- Dex
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- Elderand
- Factorio
- Fall Guys
- Family Chess
- Games Advent Calendar – 25 Days – 25 Surprises
- Godlike Burger
- Harvestella
- Hitman 3 – Cloud Version
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Just Dance 2019
- Klondike Solitaire
- Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
- Matchpoint – Tennis Championships
- Mega Man Legacy Collection
- MotoGP 21
- My Brother Rabbit
- Noir Chronicles: City of Crime
- Overcooked! All You Can Eat
- Pocoyo Party
- Port Royale 4
- Raiden IVxMikado Remix
- Real Car Driving Simulator & Parking 2022 Games
- S.N.I.P.E.R. – Hunter Scope
- Saints Row 4: Re-Elected
- SmileBASIC 4
- Steven Universe: Save The Light
- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
- Stumble Guys
- Uta no Prince-sama: All Star for Nintendo Switch
- Uta no Prince-sama: Amazing Aria & Sweet Serenade LOVE for Nintendo Switch
- Uta no Prince-sama: Debut for Nintendo Switch
- Uta no Prince-sama: Repeat LOVE for Nintendo Switch
- NicoNico
- Pilot Sports
- Puru-Chara Friends: Hoppe-chan and Sanrio Characters
- Clockwork Ley Lines – Wandering Witch in the Heat Haze
- Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars
It’s unclear whether these games will be released for the Switch 2 in their current states, perhaps with a warning of potential compatibility issues, or whether Nintendo will hold off on releasing them for Switch 2 until they’re fully ready.
Every Switch 2 Game That Requires Switch Joy-Cons
New Console, Same Controllers
Finally, there are a handful of Switch games that will only be playable on the Switch 2 when using original Switch Joy-Cons. This is a much shorter list, and each of these games is expected to work perfectly on the upgraded console, as long as you’re using the right controller.
|
Game |
Reason |
|---|---|
|
Ring Fit Adventure |
The Joy-Con 2 can’t fit in the Ring-Con accessory because of its size and magnetic connectors. |
|
1-2-Switch |
Joy-Con 2 controllers don’t have IR cameras, which are required for controlling this game. |
|
Everybody 1-2-Switch |
The Joy-Con 2 has a quieter vibration sound, which may make it harder to find during the Joy-Con Hide & Seek mini-game. |
|
Game Builder Garage |
Some features require the IR camera. |
|
Nintendo Switch Sports |
The Joy-Con 2 doesn’t fit inside the included leg strap. |
|
WarioWare: Move It! |
Some microgames require the IR camera. |
|
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit |
The Joy-Con 2 may not fit in certain accessories. |
|
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 02: Robot Kit |
The Joy-Con 2 can’t be attached to the Toy-Con Robot. |
|
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit |
The Joy-Con 2 may not fit in certain accessories. |
Do note that certain features of the above games may still work with Joy-Con 2 – it seems like you’ll still be able to play certain parts of Nintendo Switch Sports that don’t use the leg strap with the Joy-Con 2. However, certain features of the Nintendo Labo games may not work as intended with the Switch 2, as its bigger screen can’t fit into some of the accessories.
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For now, those are all the Switch 2 backwards compatibility issues we know of. It’s likely that Nintendo will update this list over time, removing games it’s found fixes for, as it’s actively working on solutions for most of these incompatible games. Hopefully, most of their issues are resolved by the time the Nintendo Switch 2 comes out on June 5.
