Switch 2 mods: does Atmosphère work on Switch 2 yet?

Mods are now running on a real Switch 2, and the first piece of Atmosphère is working on the console. Mario Kart World also has cheaters online, with at least one person reportedly banned already. But this is not custom firmware yet, and the people building it are clear about that.

One joke going around was that we got Atmosphère before the Ocarina of Time remake. That joke got a lot funnier. There is plenty more below, including how I apparently talked a developer out of retiring.

Atmosphère's RO loader is running on Switch 2 through a project called Ozone

I reported before that a developer was porting parts of Atmosphère to the Switch 2. Now that work is public. It's on GitHub, it's called Ozone, and the developer posted on Discord that Atmosphère's RO on Switch 2 is working fine.

RO is the system program that loads extra code into a running game. The developer replaced Nintendo's copy with a rebuilt one from Atmosphère. Nintendo's version only loads code that Nintendo signed. The rebuilt version is there to allow unsigned homebrew, plus some other useful extensions, in a clean way. To show it off, the developer has GameCube games recompiled into homebrew running through it on a Switch 2.

Before anyone gets too excited, the first thing on that GitHub page is a warning. This is not a full port of custom firmware to the Switch 2. The goal is to port certain parts, not the whole thing at once. It still needs an exploit first, and there's still no kernel access. Some people asked me whether Atmosphère on the Switch 2 would be the same as on the Switch 1. According to the developer building it, no. In my previous breakdown I laid out four steps, and step four was custom firmware. This is the first code you can read for that step.

A universal mod loader brings existing Switch 1 mods to Switch 2

A developer released a universal mod loader for the Switch 2. You run it after the exploit, and it stays active after you close SmileBASIC until you reboot. It loads mods from your SD card. The surprising part is that, in the developer's words, it's compatible with most existing Switch 1 mods. You can drag your old Atmosphère mods folder over.

The example on the GitHub page is Mario Kart World with a 200cc mod and a custom character model. People are using it already. One user wrote: "It works like a charm. Successfully randomized Pokemon Sword." The developer also showed a plugin framework working, which is what many of the bigger Switch 1 mods are built on. There is also Mario and Luigi: Brothership running at 60 fps natively on a Switch 2.

The catch is that it needs the file system exploit fully running, which currently means SmileBASIC 4. If you turn the console off, you have to start the whole thing again. SmileBASIC is also delisted, so if you don't already own it, you can't get it through the store. There may be another way to run it, but I never got any verification that it works, though it might.

The file system exploit might be coming to another game, and Civilization VII is close

Someone in a Switch 2 hacking community posted a log that reaches four out of four. That's the file system exploit finishing all of its steps, the same thing you see on SmileBASIC. Everyone in the Discord assumes it comes from one particular game, but the log doesn't name the game, so keep that in mind.

Other people are getting close too. One user reached step three of four in another game, and a trusted researcher wrote that, with only an image so far, they very likely have achieved three out of four in private. On Civilization VII, people say around three developers are working on it separately. A developer who made a control center tool for the Switch version of Civilization wrote about passing one of the hurdles that stalled progress. Nothing has been released yet for either game.

If you missed it, the file system exploit is what lets you read and write the console's storage. There are about five entry points at the moment, and only one of them leads there.

Cheaters have reached Mario Kart World online, with a reported ban

Now the bad news: there are hackers in Mario Kart World. One clip from someone in a normal online lobby has over 200,000 views, and there's another one where a player found a cheater in their lobby.

The Switch 2 hacking team posted an announcement about it. Players are exploiting in Mario Kart World online, and a tool was released that lets you do things like spam shocks and blue shells. The team wrote that they don't allow online cheat mods, only cosmetic and offline mods.

Nintendo seems to be reacting. According to one user on the ReSwitched Discord, the person behind the cheated time trials first got an account ban and later a console ban. That's a single report, so take it as that.

A Balatro save exploit opens a new entry point on Switch 1 and Switch 2

There is also a new entry point. A developer released a save exploit for the Balatro cartridge for Switch 1. Yes, it's the card game. Balatro is built on an engine that runs Lua scripts, and it turns out a save file can replace the game's own scripts. So the game boots into a small launcher with a remote console and an FTP server, not into Balatro.

It works on the Switch 2 and on the Switch 1 too. For those with an OLED or a Switch Lite asking about this, it's userland only, with no custom firmware, and there are limits. You need a save manager on a hacked Switch 1, or Nintendo's save transfer, to get the save in, and the file system exploit hasn't been ported to it.

The developer's message started with a line about how everybody is scalping Civilization VII, and that's not a joke. One user posted that they bought Civilization VII for $30, the order got canceled, and now it starts at 120. Other people in the Discord are seeing 70 to 120 euros. It got so bad that the ReSwitched community told people to stop posting deals.

You no longer need a Raspberry Pi Pico to send the payload

People ported the payload to ESP32 boards, so a Raspberry Pi Pico is no longer required. One of them sends it with a single button press. There is a rooted Android phone version too.

One developer commented on an idea to do it from a computer alone by emulating the local wireless connection, and said that might be better. It would need a language change and it would be faster, but nobody has built that yet.

Separately, the demo of the game everyone assumes produced that four of four log is gone from the European eShop, though it's still on the US one. People also noticed a line on the European store page of the full game: "The use of an unauthorized device or software that enables technical modification of the Nintendo console or software may render this game unplayable."

A correction: the PS5 developer I said was retiring is staying

This correction is funny. I previously reported that two developers were retiring from the PlayStation 5 scene. They are the same person, who commented to point it out, so that's on me. The PS5 emulator is still moving forward with an update this week, and the developer is staying on it.

Then came another comment, saying my coverage single-handedly made them consider staying until the Switch 2 is integrated. On X, they confirmed staying fully locked into the PS5 scene for now. So I reported a retirement and the report canceled it. You're welcome, I guess.

A few readers also corrected my emulator explanation. Many emulators do recompile while you play. It's called a JIT, which is why they can be fast. The difference with these ports is that it happens ahead of time.

Switch 2 emulation and native ports keep moving, including Donkey Kong Bananza on Apple chips

One Switch 2 emulator is at over 3,200 stars on GitHub. It now has real Nvidia DLSS in the Windows version, and rumble works in Switch 2 games. There was even an Android version for about an hour, but that's on pause while they sort out issues. A fork claims up to double the fps, with most games hitting 60.

On native ports, someone posted Donkey Kong Bananza running natively on Apple hardware at a solid 60 fps, and that clip has almost 140,000 views. Someone else shows it at 4K 60 on a base Mac Mini. It works so well because the Switch 2 and Apple's chips both use ARM, so much of the game's code can run directly without translating it.

A site that collects native PC ports of PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox games went viral with over 800,000 views. It's a launcher with no game files included; you bring your own disc. There's also a new tool that converts Switch 2 game dumps into a format emulators understand. On the PS5, the Switch 2 emulator port had its first release, and someone tested it and wrote, "Yes, it works." One claim of a game running at 60 fps on a jailbroken PS5 is still just that, one claim.

The PS2 emulator for jailbroken PS5 also got a new version. The big addition is 120 fps frame generation on original PS5 consoles below firmware 9.00; before, it was stuck at 40 or 80. Games also run faster and start sooner.

Macronix is phasing out the memory chips used in Switch cartridges

One more thing, because it affects every cartridge. Macronix, the company that makes the memory chips in Switch 1 and Switch 2 game cards, is phasing that business out, and that post has almost 400,000 views. Macronix is not Nintendo's only supplier, so cartridges aren't going away overnight, but it could mean more game key cards, which hold a download key instead of the game. And for everything covered here, a physical cartridge is what got people in.

At the time of writing, the newest Switch 2 firmware is still 23.0.1. The day one patch for the Ocarina of Time remake, version 1.1.1, is already out. Many people in the Discord expect a system update to arrive with the game, and many others don't. Whatever happens, make sure to disconnect your internet connection.