Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 Receive New Firmware — What’s Changed?

Nintendo has released firmware version 21.0.0 for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, delivering a range of enhancements, visual refinements, and system optimizations.

The update adds icons above games in the HOME Menu to indicate whether a title is a physical cartridge or a digital purchase, expands options for virtual game cards, and broadens data-transfer settings between consoles. Volume control is now available in VR, and overall performance improvements make system operation smoother.

The Nintendo Switch 2 receives additional features, including improved GameChat, the ability to cancel all downloads at once, expanded accessibility and audio settings, enhanced HDR calibration, and two new languages — Thai and Polish. This release highlights Nintendo’s focus on usability and technical refinement.

List of changes:

Nintendo Switch Ver. 21.0.0:

• Icons above game tiles now indicate whether a title is a physical cartridge or a digital purchase.
• Data for virtual game cards can be downloaded even when the “Use Online License” option is turned off.
• Information related to Save Data Cloud backups has been updated.
• The “Platinum Point Notification Settings” entry has been renamed to “Nintendo Switch Online Notification Settings”.
• During data transfer to a Nintendo Switch 2, you can opt out of redownloading software and transferring album data.
• Volume adjustment is now available through Quick Settings in VR.
• General stability improvements.

Nintendo Switch 2 Ver. 21.0.0:

• Icons above game tiles now indicate whether a title is a physical cartridge or a digital purchase.
• Option to cancel all downloads when multiple downloads are in progress.
• A “Receive Software” option for bundles that include downloadable software.
• Expanded player-search functionality from GameChat friends.
• GameChat improvements: the console no longer enters sleep during chats, you can disable “Chat Audio Panning,” and chat sessions persist when switching console modes.
• Accessibility: text-to-speech (TTS) now reads predictable characters and supports speeds up to 400%.
• Audio: choose between “Stable” or “Low Latency” audio modes for the Pro Controller.
• Display: “HDR Output” has been renamed and HDR calibration has been improved.
• Notifications: the Platinum Point Notification setting has been renamed.
• System: added “Stop Charging Around 80–90%” and introduced Thai and Polish language options.
• General stability improvements.

Version 21.0.0 has been available since November 10, 2025 and can be installed via System Settings on both consoles.

Source: iXBT.games