Nintendo has released system software Version 22.0.5 for both the original Switch family and the Switch 2, a firmware push that redesigns the ageing Switch eShop and adds extra text‑to‑speech language options to the Switch 2.
The headline change is aimed squarely at the original Switch: its eShop has been rebuilt to look and behave more like the Switch 2 storefront, now supports a dark mode theme, allows parents or owners to lock access with an access PIN, and lets users skip forward or back 10 seconds when watching trailers in the eShop or the Switch News section. On Switch 2 machines, the update primarily expands text‑to‑speech language options. Patch details were identified and circulated by Tom Phillips, who provided the list of changes in the new build.
The update — Version 22.0.5 — landed earlier this week. Immediately after the push, users began posting short clips of the overhauled eShop running noticeably faster; one BlueSky user summed up the reaction with a post reading, “Look at it gooooooo.” The redesign also reportedly narrows the visual gap between the older hardware's store and the Switch 2 eShop, an alignment Nintendo long appeared to favor when it rolled out the newer console’s storefront.
Measured by impact on daily use, a few concrete additions matter: the trailer scrub control moves browsing closer to modern expectations by removing friction when previewing games; dark mode reduces glare for users who browse in dim conditions; and the PIN adds a simple layer of family control without forcing a full parental controls profile. For Switch 2 owners, extra text‑to‑speech languages broaden accessibility options without changing core functionality.
These tweaks arrive against a clear backdrop. The original Switch’s eShop has been criticized since launch as slow and buggy, a persistent complaint dating back to the platform’s 2017 debut. The Switch family now sits on an installed base of 155.92 million units across Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED models, giving any storefront change broad reach across an ecosystem that still drives significant software sales.
Still, there’s a tension in how Nintendo frames the update and how users experience it: Version 22.0.5 is being described in official notes and some commentary as a relatively minor firmware refresh, yet the visible overhaul of the original Switch eShop is anything but trivial. The redesign alters how storefront content is presented and how quickly it loads — changes that, if they stick, can shift discovery patterns for smaller publishers and older titles that relied on the prior layout.
What remains unclear is whether the new eShop will solve the original Switch store’s deeper discoverability problems. Nintendo has not confirmed whether the redesign includes algorithmic or catalog-management changes intended to surface underperforming titles, or whether the faster, cleaner interface will simply make the same content easier to navigate without changing how titles are recommended or promoted.
For owners, the immediate practical step is simple: the update is rolling out now; installing it will apply the eShop redesign and the Switch 2 language additions. For developers and analysts, the more consequential question is what Nintendo will do next. If the company follows the cosmetic and performance work with backend changes to curation and search, the 22.0.5 release could be the start of a larger shift. If not, it will remain a visible but surface-level fix to a store that has long frustrated users and some publishers.
Nintendo has not announced further follow-ups tied to Version 22.0.5. The company pushed this firmware this week; how the new storefront affects discoverability, user behavior and software sales is the single unresolved outcome that will determine whether this update is a minor polish or the first step in a meaningful store overhaul.
