Nintendo Labo VR Is The Only Switch Game That Can't Be Played On Switch 2

Nintendo Labo VR Kit is the only Switch game that can't be played on Switch 2, and Nintendo didn't announce new VR hardware for the console.

As you've probably heard, Nintendo announced the Switch 2 console earlier today, priced at $450 alone or $500 as a bundle with the new Mario Kart World game.

According to Nintendo, while some have compatibility issues, which are all "being investigated", every Switch 1 game can be played on Switch 2 with only one exception: Nintendo Labo VR.

Nintendo Labo VR Is A Creaky Headset That May Have Cracked VR For Kids

I remember the first time I showed my PSVR to a 10-year-old. Or, more specifically, I remember the deafening crack I heard when he tried to yank the headset’s visor forward without pushing in the button to move it. I remember biting my lip with anxiety as he threatened

UploadVRJamie Feltham

Released back in 2019, Nintendo Labo VR was a game and cardboard shell for the Switch with two fresnel lenses, and it came with five accessories to build: Blaster, Camera, Elephant, Bird, and Wind Pedal. Think of it as the Google Cardboard of the Nintendo world.

The Switch's 720p display (less than 640×720 per eye) with 60Hz refresh rate and lack of positional tracking made Labo VR an objectively terrible VR headset, and it didn't even have a strap, meaning you had to hold it up. But as we noted in our review, the physicality of its included accessories made it perfect for young children to have fun with.

Interestingly, one of the accessories even featured positional controller tracking, leveraging the IR camera in the right Joy-Con and luminous paint dots on the frontplate you add to the headset, an ingenious low-cost solution.

Later, Labo VR also got support for you playing the entirety of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey in VR, in third person, but we described the result as "one of the worst VR experiences you can possibly have".

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild’s VR Update On Switch Is Very Bad

When Nintendo first announced that Zelda (and Mario) would be getting VR updates for the Switch Labo VR headset, I was cautiously optimistic. Obviously the games weren’t made for VR at all, but I thought maybe they worked that trademark Nintendo magic to craft something special. Bethesda remade Skyrim

UploadVRDavid Jagneaux

The reason that Labo VR doesn't work with Switch 2, as stated by Nintendo, is fairly obvious: the Switch 2 is too big to fit into the holder.

Theoretically, Nintendo could release a modified Labo VR Kit for Switch 2. But the company didn't announce that this week, and given how far VR (and now mixed reality too) has come, and the increased size and weight of Switch 2, it seems unlikely it will take the same approach again.

That said, there are other approaches Nintendo could take to bring VR and mixed reality to Switch 2, and patent filings suggest the company is at least exploring some of these possibilities. We'll keep a close eye on Nintendo in coming years for any signs of VR support for Switch 2.