Nintendo Switch system software

Top: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch in the Basic White theme as of April 2025
Bottom: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the Basic Dark theme as of February 2026

Nintendo Switch system software
Nintendo Switch system software
	; ; Top: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch in the Basic White theme as of April 2025; Bottom: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the Basic Dark theme as of February 2026;
Developer	Nintendo; HAL Laboratory
Written in	C, C++ and HTML for eShop and online services settings
OS family	Proprietary, derivative of the Nintendo 3DS system software (containing components which are based on FreeBSD and Android)
Working state	Current
Source model	Closed source
Initial release	1.0.0 (March 3, 2017)
Latest release	23.0.0 (September 10, 2026) [±] ; 19.0.2 (January 20, 2026) (Tencent Nintendo Switch only)
Available in	Chinese (Simplified); Chinese (Traditional); Dutch; English (United Kingdom); English (United States); French (Canada); French (France); German; Italian; Japanese; Korean; Portuguese (Brazil); Polish; Portuguese (Portugal); Russian; Spanish (Latin America); Spanish (Spain); Thai;
Update method	Direct download ; Nintendo Switch Game Card
Supported platforms	Nintendo Switch; Nintendo Switch Lite; Nintendo Switch OLED; Nintendo Switch 2;
Kernel type	Microkernel
Preceded by	Nintendo 3DS system software; Wii U system software
Official website	support.nintendo.com

The Nintendo Switch system software (also known by its codename Horizon) is an updatable firmware and operating system used by the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 hybrid video game consoles. It is based on a proprietary microkernel. The user interface (UI) includes the game library organized in a horizontal row, with numerous additional options and shortcuts underneath.