Nintendo's 23.5.0 firmware adds eShop gifting and patches a Switch 2 jailbreak
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Nintendo released firmware 23.5.0 for Switch and Switch 2, adding support for eShop gifting.
Reports say it also blocks a Switch 2 jailbreak, affecting modders and homebrew users.
Background
Nintendo is the company behind the Switch and Switch 2 consoles and the eShop store. Firmware 23.5.0, released in November 2026, prepares both consoles for a gifting feature that lets players send eShop products to members of their Nintendo Account family group. The update is also reported to close a Switch 2 jailbreak route that had emerged in late October, when hackers used SmileBASIC 4 and later a Civilization VII chat feature with a connected USB device to exploit the system.
How it unfolded
- Sep 9, 2026Nintendo released firmware 23.0.0, fixing a stock-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2026-82079) affecting only the original Switch on older firmware.
- Sep 10, 2026Version 23.0.0 arrived for Switch and Switch 2, adding VRR (variable refresh rate) support while playing Switch 2 in TV mode.
- Oct 1, 2026Version 23.0.1 was pushed to both consoles, fixing software that took too long to start, pause or close.
- Nov 9, 2026Version 23.5.0 released for Switch and Switch 2, adding support for the upcoming eShop gifting feature plus general adjustments and fixes.
- Nov 10, 2026Reports said firmware 23.5.0 patches a Switch 2 jailbreak exploit, blocking game dumping and modding.
- Nov 17, 2026The gifting feature is scheduled to become available after a Nintendo eShop update, on consoles running system version 23.5.0 or later.
Key terms
- firmware
- Software embedded in hardware that provides low-level control of a device's functions.
- jailbreak
- Exploiting software flaws to remove manufacturer restrictions on a device's operating system, allowing unauthorized apps and changes.
- homebrew
- Unofficial software made by hobbyists for proprietary video game consoles not intended to be user-programmable.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Nintendo's patch notes say 23.5.0 adds support for gifting eShop products to a Nintendo Account family group member, available after the November 17, 2026 eShop update, and adds accessibility setup options and Portuguese (Portugal) text-to-speech languages on Switch 2.
- Analysts
- GoNintendo and TwistedVoxel report that, though the patch notes don't mention it, 23.5.0 closes the Switch 2 jailbreak exploit, making game dumping and modding impossible again and restricting existing game-level exploits.
- Caution
- Vooks reports gifting is limited to a person's family group, so games can't be sent to a random person, and notes full details of how gifting works are not yet available.
Still unverified
Vooks states that full details on how gifting will work on Switch and Switch 2 are not yet available.