Nintendo's day-one update for the Switch 2 is just a big 'ON' switch

Maybe you’ve camped out all night, or you’ve refreshed furiously at the risk of breaking your F5 key, but tomorrow you are finally getting your hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. After tearing it open and booting it up, you might quickly realize that the console’s functionality out of the box is basically non-existent. You have just purchased a very expensive paperweight.

This is all by design, as Nintendo wanted the console as locked down as possible in order to prevent leaks ahead of time. They didn’t even send review units to press ahead of launch this time around (it’s fine, I’m not bitter). Now that the Switch 2 is out in parts of the world where it’s already June 5, we’re getting our first look at the patch notes for the console’s day one update.

The Version 20.1.1 update for the Switch 2 basically turns the console on. The day one update enables support for Switch 1 games, virtual game cards, the Nintendo eShop and those Game-Key cards where the physical card you bought doesn’t actually contain the game, but allows you to download it. The patch notes themselves include some fairly important features like "use of Nintendo Switch Software" and "Nintendo Switch Online." You can read the full patch notes at nintendolife.

Users will be prompted to update their consoles during initial setup, so it should be a seamless experience. I won’t give them the clicks by linking here, but suffice to say seeing leakers and hackers get their hands on the console early only to realize they can’t do much of anything was strangely satisfying.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-day-one-update-for-the-switch-2-is-just-a-big-on-switch-175136898.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-day-one-update-for-the-switch-2-is-just-a-big-on-switch-175136898.html?src=rss
Created 7d | Jun 4, 2025, 6:10:29 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

Razer launches its first barebones mechanical keyboard

On Tuesday, Razer launched its first keyboard for the DIY set. As its name implies

Jun 10, 2025, 10:20:21 PM | Engadget
OpenAI adds the o3-pro model to ChatGPT today

OpenAI is keeping up its rapid-fire pace of new AI releases. The company introduced

Jun 10, 2025, 10:20:19 PM | Engadget
Apple's Liquid Glass is Windows Vista done well

It's hard to look at Apple's new "

Jun 10, 2025, 8:10:14 PM | Engadget
OpenAI won WWDC 2025

If you weren't paying close attention to Apple's

Jun 10, 2025, 8:10:13 PM | Engadget
Video Games Weekly: The one that happened while the Waymos burned

Welcome to Video Games Weekly on Engadget. Expect a new story every Monday, broken into two parts. The first is a space for short essays and ramblings about video game trends and related topics

Jun 10, 2025, 8:10:12 PM | Engadget
Threads is finally getting its own DM inbox

Nearly two years after launching Threads, Meta is finally giving in to users on one of the most requested features for the service: direct messaging. The company is beginning to test a dedicated in

Jun 10, 2025, 5:40:30 PM | Engadget
Palmer Luckey's ModRetro Chromatic portable console is now a thing you can actually buy

There's a new (ish) retro console on the block. The ModRetro Chromatic had a soft launch last year but is now "permanently in stock" for consumers. This is another machine that runs Game Boy and Ga

Jun 10, 2025, 5:40:29 PM | Engadget