Nintendo Switch system software

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Nintendo Switch system software
Top: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch in the Basic White theme as of June 2025 Bottom: Home screen of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the Basic Dark Mode theme as of June 2025
Developer	Nintendo HAL Laboratory[1]
Written in	C, C++ and HTML for eShop and online services settings
OS family	Proprietary OS, 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; 8 years ago (2017-03-03)
Latest release	20.1.5 / June 18, 2025; 9 days ago (2025-06-18)[2]
Available in	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Dutch English (United Kingdom) English (United States) French (Canada) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Portuguese (Portugal) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Spain)
Update method	Direct download
Platforms	Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch Lite Nintendo Switch OLED Nintendo Switch 2
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^[3]) 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.