Nintendo’s Giving Old Switch Games a Free Glow-Up for the Switch 2—Yes, Even Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Nintendo just dropped a rare bit of good news for once: if you’re planning to fork out nearly $700 AUD for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, a bunch of your dusty old Switch games are getting a facelift—and it won’t cost you an extra cent.
We’re talking improved resolution, higher frame rates, mouse support, and even HDR in some cases. These free updates will be available when the Switch 2 launches on June 5, 2025. And no, this isn’t one of those “buy the deluxe version again” scams—these updates will be available to anyone who owns the games digitally or on cartridge.
Among the titles getting the Switch 2 treatment is Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, which is kind of hilarious considering it was universally roasted for running like a powerpoint presentation on the OG Switch. Apparently, Nintendo has heard the collective sigh of a million disappointed Trainers and is trying to make it right with smoother frame rates and a sharper resolution. Fingers crossed it actually helps.
Here’s a quick rundown of some notable updates:
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ARMS: Remember this launch-era fighting game? It’s now getting the holy trinity—higher resolution, boosted frame rate, and HDR support.
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Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: Still adorable. Now shinier and with HDR.
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Game Builder Garage: Gets a resolution bump and mouse support via Joy-Con 2. Yes, apparently that’s a thing now.
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Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury: Bowser’s Fury, which already looked wild, now has HDR, higher frame rates, and enhanced co-op with GameShare support.
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Super Mario Odyssey: HDR and resolution upgrades, plus GameShare for those who still argue over who gets to be Cappy.
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Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Link’s Awakening: Both are now HDR-ready, giving those stylised art styles even more punch.
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Big Brain Academy and 51 Worldwide Games: Added GameShare and smoother performance, because brain games and backgammon deserve love too.
GameShare support, by the way, is Nintendo’s new take on co-op where you can either play locally or toss a controller over the internet with GameChat. It’s basically couch co-op for people with long-distance friendships and decent WiFi.
Now, before you get too excited, not every game is getting every feature. Some titles just get a resolution bump, while others like ARMS and Mario 3D World go full deluxe. There’s no new content or levels, just a bit of technical polish to make your old games look less crusty on modern screens.
It’s refreshing to see Nintendo offer these enhancements without charging extra, especially given their history of reselling the same game across three generations (cough Mario Kart 8). Whether this move is driven by generosity, guilt, or the reality of how rough some of these games ran originally (looking at you again, Pokémon), we’ll take the win.
The full list of updated titles includes:
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Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
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Super Mario Odyssey
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The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
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Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
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New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
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Game Builder Garage
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51 Worldwide Games
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ARMS
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Big Brain Academy: Brain vs Brain
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Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet
So, if you’re planning to jump into the next-gen Nintendo life, it looks like your Switch library won’t be collecting dust just yet. Let’s just hope the updates actually work—and that we don’t need another patch in two weeks to fix the patch.
Head here for more info.
