Nintendo Switch Emulators

welcome to the Nintendo Switch Emulators recap page
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid home/portable console released by Nintendo in 2017.
The Switch emulators scene has grown rapidly just a few months after the console’s release, and despite Nintendo’s efforts to improve console security, numerous internal files have leaked online, resulting in a much faster development of the Switch emulators scene than has ever happened for other consoles, with compatibility of over 80% and excellent performance.
Today, primarily as a result of the big N’s efforts to shut down all of the major Switch emulators, the Switch emulator scene is experiencing a lack of active projects, and because of this, in this case we will break our guideline of only list active emulators.
However, it’s essential to address the ethical considerations surrounding console emulation.
Emulation of a console currently supported and sold on the market certainly raises moral issues and does not fall into retro gaming.
With the ever-changing landscape of emulation, it’s very important for users to understand what their choices mean.
some lore (click to expand)
The development of the Nintendo Switch represents an interesting evolution in gaming, combining home console power and portable convenience. Officially unveiled in October 2016 and released in March 2017, the Switch emerged from Nintendo’s goals to reinvigorate its product line and capture a diverse audience.
After the difficulties experienced with the Wii U, a system that failed to acquire popularity, Nintendo changed its focus to a hybrid approach aiming to provide gamers more flexibility and allowing them to smoothly switch from playing at home to on the go. The revolutionary design includes a tablet-like screen that can be docked for TV play, as well as detachable Joy-Con controllers for multiplayer activities that do not require extra equipment.
The Switch team learned lessons on user experience and performance from the development phase of past consoles. Hardware was designed to balance performance, and it has an NVIDIA Tegra processor, which makes excellent graphics and gameplay possible. In its development process, it had placed much emphasis on adaptability and accessibility, which was reflected in a wide variety of launch games while putting much reliance on utilizing its extensive IP portfolio and encouraging third-party developers to generate content for the platform.
As a result, the game library in Switch was eclectic and tempting both for those who had experience and new gamers.
While paying much attention to both innovation and customer experiences, the Nintendo Switch has effectively carved out a unique spot in the gaming business with its versatility combined with an entertaining game lineup, which resulted in excellent sales and pleased a big fan base.
Quick data
Name: Nintendo Switch
Producer: Nintendo
Release date: 3 March 2017 (WW)
Generation: Eighth/Ninth
Status: Active
Dismission date: Not Yet
Unit sold: 143.42 mil.
Price at launch: 299$
CPU: Tegra X1 – 4x Cortex A57 – 1.785Ghz
GPU: Nvidia GM20B “Maxwell” 768Mhz (docked)
RAM: 4Gb LPDDR4
Storage: 32/64Gb eMMC
Resolution: 720p/1080p when docked
Predecessor: Nintendo Wii U
Successor: Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch Emulators list
click on the emulator's logo to access more details on the official page
best Nintendo Switch emulators for Windows, linux, SteamDeck and MAC
Ryujinx
Ryujinx is a very solid Switch emulator, probably the most developed and compatible with over 80% of the Switch library.
Even if it is not in development anymore due to pressure from Nintendo of America and all official download links being gone, there are some alternative ways.
Supported Platform:
As many know Yuzu emulator is dead and while its source code remains technically free and open-source, working with his code it’s really hard due to the recent legal challenges.
In the last month, several independent projects have emerged from the community, offering reliable and functional alternatives. At this stage of development these new emulators are basically identical to his predecessor Yuzu, with a smoother gaming experience, especially on low-end devices, but there is no significant difference except some minor fix.
It’s basically impossible for them having a Github page and many didn’t have a clear web site or download link and you should see these software as a simple replacement for Yuzu for now
This must not stop you from using this emulators but most they probably won’t be updated as often as they were in the past.
other alternative and two words about yuzu clone
best Nintendo Switch emulators for Android Smartphone and Android handled console
Actually, there is no Ryujinx Android release, so you have to rely on the Yuzu-based emulator and install the APK file manually.
While some working Switch emulators called “EggNS” and “DamonSwitch” are available on Google Play, it’s better to NOT use them as they use stolen source code and have some serious privacy/DRM concerns.
Suyu (or any other fork)
Suyu stands out as the best and most accessible Nintendo Switch emulator for Android.
His development seems to have stopped some months ago. It offers nice compatibility and performance and, most importantly, an easy download link for the APK file and a reference site.
More info about the other Yuzu clone is inside the Sudachi page.
Supported Platform:
other Nintendo Switch Android emulator
best Nintendo switch emulators for IOS and Ipad
Nothing to show here for now
Actually, there is no working Nintendo Switch emulator on the official App Store since it’s not officially retrogaming and due to some problem with the JIT renderer.
Some emulators provide IPA files that can be installed by sideload, but it requires a paid Apple dev account to enable the increased memory limit.
Sudachi (or his clone Pomelo)
Born as iOS port of Yuzu, Sudachi is now becoming a promising independent project.
It don’t offer any IPA file for download at the moment but it may be released in the future
For now you can use his clone Pomelo that offer a practical Ipa files download that can be easily sideloaded.
More info about the other Yuzu-clone inside the Sudachi page.