During the Switch 2 Direct earlier this week, Nintendo outlined what it is calling “Switch 2 Enhanced Games” for the new console. As the title suggests, these will be Switch 1 games that feature enhancements for the Switch 2 without being natively developed for the platform. Nintendo Wire currently has a list of games that will feature these improvements, but Nintendo also revealed that it would be selling physical copies of these versions for people who didn’t want to pay for digital upgrades. According to a recent discovery, however, it might turn out that the physical versions don’t actually contain the upgrade on the cartridge.
Bluesky account “Does it Play?” posted this morning a message from the Nintendo UK customer support team that one of its followers received. Questioning the company about whether or not the physical Switch 2 Enhanced games would feature a Switch 2 version on the cart, the company responded, stating, “We can confirm that the upgrades will be download codes.”
According to Nintendo’s own support, the Switch 2 Enhanced Editions were false advertising during the Direct. After trying to nail them down for an answer, they confirmed to one of our followers it’s just Switch 1 cards with a code for the upgrade. No reason to buy these, then.
— Does it play? (@doesitplay.org) April 5, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Wario64 then reposted the message and noted that until there is official confirmation from Nintendo, this could be a misunderstanding. In his post, he included the box art for the physical version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond that contains the disclaimer about what the Switch 2 Edition will be. This reads:
“Includes the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack. Upgrade pack available separately. For details, visit support.nintendo.com/switch2/upgradepack.”
That page isn’t currently live, so we can’t even cross-reference it to confirm or deny this claim. If you read into the wording, however, it certainly sounds as if the cartridge included is merely a Switch 1 game with the Switch 2 upgrade included as a code. It could be that these carts may have both versions there, but it doesn’t sound like it.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
