Nintendo Switch 2 games are beginning to make their way to Android devices through experimental emulators and unofficial native ports. While the projects are still in their early stages, recent developments suggest that playing Nintendo's latest console games on Android smartphones could become more accessible.
According to Android Authority, developers have already demonstrated ways to run titles such as Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World on Android devices. However, performance remains inconsistent, and several technical limitations still need to be addressed.
One of the developments is Eden SX2A, an experimental Android emulator based on the PokeDinner project, which itself builds on Eglantine and Eden-NS2. The original Eden emulator was developed for Nintendo Switch games.
However, Eden SX2A is no longer maintained. Its developer listed Android 13 or newer, at least 16GB of RAM (12GB for smaller games), and a Qualcomm Adreno GPU among the requirements.
Initial testing suggests that demanding games such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza run slowly. Pokemon Pokopia, however, reportedly performs better.
The Eglantine emulator also has an Android version, while the Eden team is accepting patches to improve compatibility with Switch 2 games.
Another development is BananaNative, an Android project that enables unofficial native ports of Switch 2 games. It supports titles including Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World.
Unlike traditional emulation, BananaNative runs the games' Arm-based code directly on Android processors. The Switch 2's NVN-based graphics are rebuilt for Vulkan.
A demonstration showed Donkey Kong Bananza running on a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 device with 16GB RAM and Turnip drivers. However, frame generation was used to achieve the performance shown. Mario Kart World remains unplayable, displaying black pixels.
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These projects face potential legal challenges. Since Nintendo Switch 2 is the company's current console and its games are actively sold, Nintendo could take action against unofficial emulators and ports, as it has previously done with original Switch emulators.