Nintendo Switch 2 Emulator 'A Decade Minimum' Away, Devs Warn

Gamers hoping to play Nintendo Switch 2 titles on their PC are facing a long and uncertain wait. In a stark warning to the community, developers behind the early-stage emulator 'Pound' have stated it could take "a decade minimum" to create a functional emulator for the new console. This is a night-and-day difference from the original Nintendo Switch, which saw functional emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx released within roughly a year of the console's launch.

This massive delay is attributed to two major factors: enhanced security and a hostile legal environment. Nintendo, having learnt from the original Switch's vulnerabilities, designed the Switch 2—which launched in June 2025 and has sold over 10 million units—with far more robust protections that obstruct reverse engineering. 

Furthermore, the company's aggressive legal strategy, which culminated in a $2.4 million settlement that shut down the popular Switch emulator Yuzu, has created a chilling atmosphere. Many skilled programmers are now reportedly unwilling to take the legal risk. 

The blunt message was first spotted by GamesRadar on the GitHub page for 'Pound', which posted an all-caps notice stating, "IMPORTANT: THIS PROJECT WILL NOT BE READY FOR A DECADE MINIMUM!" Developers for both 'Pound' and 'Oboromi', the only two known Switch 2 emulation projects, cautioned that they are still in a "proof of concept" stage. 

'Oboromi' is described as merely a "work-in-progress emulator foundation," and neither project can currently load the console's firmware or execute any game code.

False Hopes And Debunked Emulators

This difficult new reality stands in sharp contrast to false hopes from earlier in the year. Back in July, just a month after the Switch 2's release, a group calling itself the "Hassaku Emulator" claimed it had successfully begun rendering titles, using Donkey Kong Bananza as proof. 

This was quickly debunked by the piracy community, which noted that Switch 2 ROMs weren't even possible at the time. Many alleged the "proof" was just video files on a grainy background, possibly a rebrand of a previously failed project.

That said, the lack of a functional emulator has not completely stopped illicit groups from dumping game ROMs. A copy of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, for instance, reportedly appeared online before paying customers had even received their pre-orders. While this shows the interest in pirated games remains high, the technical barrier to playing them is, for now, insurmountable.

The message from the emulation scene is clear: the era of playing new Nintendo titles on PC near launch appears to be over, and anyone wanting to play Switch 2 games will have to rely on the official hardware for the foreseeable future.