If you own a Nintendo Switch and a ton of games for it, most of those titles will still work the same on the Switch 2. But a select few will get special treatment and something new for the system too.
This usually comes in the form of performance upgrades, raising 30 FPS titles to 60, and boosting the resolution to support 4k or more reliably run at 1080p, which is especially nice for the more unstable titles.
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Some games will get a bit more special treatment, with added GameShare support, allowing you to share your games with friends online and play together as if they owned the title—a feature rightfully returning from the DS.
A few games are paid upgrades, though, and they offer something entirely new on top of the performance upgrade. This is usually only $10 if it's just a performance increase, but it goes up to $20 when they add new content.
The list of upgradeable Switch games is likely to increase when third parties get their hands on the feature, as these are just the titles Nintendo has confirmed will have Switch 2 upgrades.
Every Switch Game Upgrade
|
Game Title |
Release Date |
OpenCritic Score |
Additions |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kirby and the Forgotten Land |
Aug 28, 2025 |
85 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, new Star-Crossed World DLC campaign. |
$20 |
|
Super Mario Party Jamboree |
Jul 24, 2025 |
81 |
Improved Resolution, GameShare support, Exclusive Jamboree TV mode that uses mouse controls, the camera, and the microphone. |
$20 |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom |
Jun 5, 2025 |
96 |
Improved FPS, Resolution, and load times, HDR support, and Zelda Notes App support. |
$10 |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |
Jun 5, 2025 |
96 |
Improved FPS, Resolution, and load times, HDR support, and Zelda Notes App support. |
$10 |
|
Pokémon Legends: Z-A |
Late 2025 |
TBD |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
$10 |
|
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond |
2025 |
TBD |
Improved load times, able to improve FPS or Resolution with quality or performance mode, HDR support, and mouse controls. |
$10 |
|
Super Mario Odyssey |
Oct 27, 2017 |
97 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, GameShare support. |
Free |
|
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker |
Jul 13, 2018 |
82 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, GameShare support. |
Free |
|
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics |
Jun 5, 2020 |
81 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, GameShare support. |
Free |
|
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury |
Feb 12, 2021 |
89 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, GameShare support. |
Free |
|
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain |
Dec 3, 2021 |
73 |
Improved FPS and Resolution, GameShare support. |
Free |
|
ARMS |
Jun 16, 2017 |
78 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
|
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe |
Jan 11, 2019 |
79 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening |
Sep 20, 2019 |
87 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
|
Game Builder Garage |
Jun 11, 2021 |
77 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
|
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet |
Nov 18, 2022 |
71 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom |
Sep 26, 2024 |
85 |
Improved FPS and Resolution. |
Free |
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Whimsical Starfall
- Released
- March 25, 2022
- Developer(s)
- HAL Laboratory
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Kirby
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is my favorite game of 2022, and that was a stacked year. It's a real tribute to HAL's hard work adapting Kirby into 3D, and they stuck the landing on their first try.
On the original Switch, it ran at a locked 30 FPS with enemies moving at low framerates when they were further away. While I found that rather charming, it was a bit jarring, and everything now will run at a smooth 60 FPS.
This game was rather notorious for never getting a patch, because it never needed one. While that was an awesome feat in the current gaming landscape, I certainly don't mind a new patch dropping for a full-on DLC campaign.
While Star Allies had a ton of free DLC with a very short-lived extra campaign, Star-Crossed World looks to be a real expansion of every level in the base game, all with new gimmicks and level design.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Don't Let The Party Die
- Released
- October 17, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Mario Party
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
The Mario Party series was in a pretty huge slump for a long while, but after Superstars brought back the classic mechanics in a promising new package, Super Mario Party Jamboree was able to deliver something great.
We've ditched the stupid car mechanic forever, finally have boards that aren't made with the Line tool in Photoshop, and way more characters than ever before, making for a really great package.
I find the mini-games pretty lacking, all things considered, but the new Jamboree TV add-on looks a little promising in that department if you want to shell out $55 for a Switch 2 Camera.
It's not entirely clear whether the camera is required, but given how much it's been used in the marketing for this expansion, I wouldn't get your hopes up. It still looks neat, even if it's probably one big gimmick for $20.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Can We Get Anti-Aliasing?
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
Now, for the slightly more controversial paid upgrades, Tears of the Kingdom will be a $10 payment to finally get a stable 60 FPS, higher resolution, faster loading times, and access to an app that seems... terrible.
The app lets you take notes, and has a built-in GPS—because you can't just use the map that's already built into the game, you instead need annoying text-to-speech directions to guide you everywhere.
For Tears of the Kingdom in particular, you can use the app to share autobuild schematics with others. Still, one of my favorite parts of being around when this game released was manually building stuff I saw online and making a Ford F-150.
For me, this app is a useless, easy-to-create addition to try and justify tacking on a $10 price tag, even when most of the free upgrades receive very similar boosts to performance, because Zelda is a game that needs it.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Smoothed Over
- Released
- March 3, 2017
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
- Cross Save
- no
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, Switch
- How Long To Beat
- 50 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- no
- Metascore
- 97
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In an extremely similar fashion to Tears of the Kingdom, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is another upgrade that will set you back $10 to get a resolution bump and a smooth 60 FPS, plus the same app.
Unlike that game, though, you can't share autobuild schematics, and there's no feature equivalent to it, making this worth even less. You can essentially get this experience by looking up guides.
Why did they make a whole app for this? I wish I knew. You can also pretty handily emulate Breath of the Wild at unlimited framerate and resolution, which has been a thing for almost as long as the game has been out.
That said, the game needed this framerate bump. Breath of the Wild tends to drop the ball on framerate in areas with lots of grass, so instead of dropping to 10 FPS, we can finally have a smooth 60 on console.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Unnecessary Gouging
Pokemon Legends Z-A
- Released
- 2025
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- RPG
For games that aren't released yet, you might wonder why Nintendo would make upgrade packs instead of making the game $70 flat and giving you the Switch 2 version for free. I also wonder why the hell they're doing that.
This convoluted solution means you can grab Pokémon Legends: Z-A for a crisp $60 on the original Switch. It'll run terribly due to the curse of being a modern Pokémon game, so you can pay $10 to fix their allergy to optimization.
This is the only Switch 2 upgrade I'm aware of that solely increases performance and resolution but still costs money for some god-forsaken reason, and even though I loved Legends Arceus, this makes Z-A really hard to justify.
The game looks good, with the Xenoblade-style combat and the return of open-world exploration and catching mechanics, but is it "$70 to most likely run at an unstable 60 FPS" good? That's up to you to decide.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Retro's Rewind
- Developer(s)
- Retro Studios
- Franchise
- Metroid, Metroid Prime
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Action, First-Person, Adventure, Metroidvania
I'm a massive Metroid fan, so seeing Metroid Prime 4 finally scheduled to release this year after 8+ years in development hell is awesome. While I haven't been a huge fan of the $10 upgrades, this one feels worthwhile.
The game already looks incredible on the shoddy original Switch hardware, and it looks better than most PS5 games on the Switch 2, able to run at 4k and 60 FPS, or 1080p and 120 FPS, both of which look incredible.
It feels like Retro Studios is incredibly capable of pushing Nintendo's hardware to its absolute limits, and this is a Prime example, on top of adding mouse controls that seem straight out of PrimeHack.
I still don't get why they don't just release the game for $70 and make it a free upgrade, but either way, the $10 upgrade feels well worth the price for smooth and snappy aiming alone, on top of the visuals getting even better.
Super Mario Odyssey
Jump Up Super-Res
- Released
- October 27, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Super Mario Bros.
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
Now for the free titles, I think Super Mario Odyssey is one of the best games on this list that didn't need to be here. It already ran at a locked 1080p 60fps—the best the original Switch could do—so the boost isn't super noticeable.
There's the addition of GameShare, but I think 3D Mario games usually have pretty middling multiplayer, with Odyssey being no exception. That said, this is still an excuse to return to one of the best games ever made.
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Platformers do tend to benefit from a framerate boost, as it reduces input lag, and given the trend with performance boosts, it's rather likely that load times will be significantly reduced on top of that.
This is rather interesting to me, as Super Mario Odyssey speedruns usually use an older version of the game with more out-of-bounds skips, but perhaps this performance boost could make the latest version competitive.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Magnified Detail
- Released
- December 5, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- Switch, Nintendo Wii U, 3DS
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Of the Wii U ports I'd guess would get a boost, I think Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker would've been the last on my list. It performs perfectly, and the framerate really doesn't matter for a typically slow-going puzzle game.
That, and the multiplayer is something I completely forgot existed before writing this, despite having played through this entire game before. From what I know, it's just an unnecessary addition that makes levels far easier.
I think Treasure Tracker is a great game, and I absolutely love the puzzles contained within it, but I don't think a performance and resolution bump is supremely necessary—unless you are obsessed with those two things.
All that said, it is a free upgrade that does objectively improve the game, so if you haven't given this silly little diorama-cracking puzzle-platformer where you can't jump, I'd highly recommend giving it a go.
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Renegade Re-release
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- Released
- June 5, 2020
- Developer(s)
- NDcube
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
If you know me, you know I love Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics. It's just a collection of board games, but board games are awesome, and I've probably booted this game up a hundred times.
I absolutely love hopping on Pool with my girlfriend, Renegade is as great as Othello since they're both the same game, and every game in this pack has some merit to it unless your name is Bowling.
I'm really happy to see this is the de facto game they're promoting for use with GameShare, as it makes convincing online friends to play whatever game comes to mind way easier since they no longer need to buy the game to join you.
There was already the Clubhouse Games Guest Pass application that lets you play locally with anyone without needing to own the game, but now you can have that experience with anyone around the world.