A platform-wide achievement system has been ruled out for Nintendo Switch 2, but that doesn’t mean they won’t feature in individual games.
Achievements in video games have been a thing for decades, with Microsoft making them something that every game on the Xbox 360 had to have. Sony quickly copied the idea on the PlayStation 3 but, predictably, Nintendo did not.
Achievements, trophies, and other similar systems have persisted ever since but while there’s been a handful of Nintendo games that feature achievements (Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii was one of the first) they’ve never been present for every game on a console.
When the Switch 1 launched, some were dismayed to see it lack any sort of achievement system for games. There was hope this would be rectified for the Switch 2, but Nintendo has already made it clear that won’t be happening.
In an interview with Polygon, Bill Trinen, Nintendo of America’s vice president of player and product experience, was asked if the Switch 2 will feature system-wide achievements.
Not only did Trinen answer with a blunt ‘No,’ he didn’t give a reason as to why. Frustrating, but also typical for Nintendo. The implication is simply that they don’t like them and/or they don’t like using other people’s ideas (not they haven’t in the past).
The omission of achievements might feel a bit surprising when the Switch 2 has caught up to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in other areas. It can support 4K visuals, run certain games up to 120 frames per second, and comes with a traditional online chat feature.
That said, Nintendo still isn’t opposed to adding achievements to individual games. For example, early Mario Kart World footage shows that it has some kind of challenge checklist for when you’re roaming around the open world.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and its sequel, Tears Of The Kingdom, will also have achievements in the form of medals for reaching certain milestones, though these won’t be in the games themselves.
The achievements are locked to an accompanying Zelda Notes service included with the Nintendo Switch Online app (which is set to be renamed the Nintendo Switch App in May). Other Zelda Notes features include navigation guidance and the ability to share items with other players.
While this is bound to disappoint certain gamers, it’s the least of peoples’ concerns with the Switch 2. There are much stronger points of contention, such as the high price of games and the lack of proper physical versions for Switch 2 Edition games.
Not to mention there are concerns the console itself will instantly increase in price thanks to new tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, which have already prompted Nintendo to delay when pre-orders open up in the US.
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