Nintendo has reconfirmed the first party Nintendo Switch games which will get free upgrades for the Nintendo Switch 2 on its official site. These games are not Nintendo Switch 2 Editions and are likely to have some resolution and frame rate upgrades when running on Nintendo’s upcoming system. As far as we know these games have no been reworked, but will tap into the enhanced power of the Nintendo Switch 2.
“Free updates to improve playability on the Nintendo Switch 2 system will be released for select Nintendo Switch games. By connecting your Nintendo Switch 2 to the internet, you can download free updates that may improve performance or add support for features such as GameShare in select games. The contents of these free updates will differ depending on the game.”
- ARMS
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain
- Game Builder Garage
looks like we have to download them again using Key Cards on the Sequel machine.
There are key card games (star link) and worse (any capcom megaman collection) already on switch 1. Pretty much all ps5 games are key cards. First party nintendo switch 2 games are fortunately not game key cards, they are full games.
Sonic. Where did you see that if you already own the game ?
Boo boo
Super Mario Odyssey upgrade is what I was hoping for.
And wow Scarlet/Violet actually getting an upgrade.
FYI Odyssey is getting Gameshare capabilities so it might be only that in the update and not e.g. a graphics/performance upgrade. It would certainly be nice to see the game run at a consistent 1080p60 on both docked and handheld as a minimum but we’ll see.
Big Brain Academy, Super Mario 3D World & Bowser’s Fury, Clubhouse Games and Captain Toad are also all confirmed for Gameshare.
It’s still a real job behind it… I wonder what independent developers will do for their games, especially since many of them look incompatible or partially incompatible
Aiming for 120FPS would be really challenging, but it would be interesting to see what emerges from this. I’m hoping that a good portion of all games are with a free patch, but I’m also good with sticking to a stable 30FPS/40FPS.
It’s likely that developers will continue collaborating with Nintendo to provide future updates or enhanced versions. According to Nintendo’s official website and support team, they plan to keep cooperating with publishers to be sure that games function properly.
Collaborate, yes, but it’s likely that publishers will simply release their games on the new Switch… for example, Fornite switch 1 is incompatible with switch 2, Epic prefers to release a version rather than develop a patch (which we still don’t know if it’s possible to do it all the time by the way)
But other games also have these problems but there we have no news for the moment on their future to name 2: wolfenstein and Doom, 2 games “as if by chance” from Bethesda
Fortnite is a different case because it’s a free-to-play digital game on the Nintendo Switch. That means when the Switch 2 version comes out, you can just install it for free. But paid Switch 1 games are a separate issue, as Nintendo will need to figure out how to handle the games people already bought. They can’t just release a “Switch 2 Edition” and make the Switch 1 version unplayable on the new hardware.
About the games with compatibility issues, compared to thousands (according to the site, more than 15.000 partner games and 122 Nintendo games) of software released on the Switch 1, the list is not as big, meaning they don’t have as many issues to fix and have time to sort them out. I presume many of these games will be playable normally before the launch or even before the end of the year.
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Yesssss finally I can stress out in 120fps in Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain and realise how dumb I am
Ngl, was really hoping Age of Calamity would be on this list.
If any Switch game needed a performance boost, it’s that one.
One thing we don’t know yet is how much the Switch 2 will just naturally improve the performance of Switch games even without the need for a performance update. Games that have dynamic resolution and games that don’t always hit their target framerate will probably hit their target resolution and framerate more consistently even with no update, because these are elements that are restricted by the hardware, rather than the software.
Age of Calamity has aggressive dynamic resolution and major framerate drops so with any luck it’s going to be a dramatic improvement on Switch 2 with no update required. Of course updates would be welcome to take it to a 60fps experience but just getting it running at a consistent 30fps at its target resolution would be a good start for that game. We’ll have to wait for launch to confirm that there is an improvement here of course.
I’m not sure that the console alone will improve this
It’s more than likely that the improvements will be made via G Sync, Ray Tracing, or DLSS, i.e., the kind of improvement that can only be made via a patch.
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Indeed. It’s hard on the eyes when you use a Divine Beast ultimate attack and that laser drops the framerate to like 15 FPS. Hurt to look at, and took me out of the experience a bit.
A performance update for AoC COULD still be in the pipeline, we don’t know.
GIVE ME ASTRAL CHAIN UPGRADE!
Also, Legends Arceus upgrade would be nice. And they better fix MK 1.
unlikely with platinum games in shambles
So no Animal Crossing? …okay.
Great. now I can play Super Mario on Switch 2.
Interesting that Smash Ultimate isn’t on there but I’d hate to jump to speculation.
Smash 6 is so near by, i doubt they’ll put out a $20 upgrade ala the booster pass
Where in the world did you get a news bit that Smash 6 is even in development? Not that it’s impossible, but I don’t think Sakurai would be directing on Kirby Air Ride and Smash 6 simultaneously (especially when he would need to be MUCH more involved in the latter).
Cool to see that nintendo is still touching the New Super Mario Bros. Series!