Nintendo seems to have discreetly confirmed a feature on the Switch 2, but as usual, this doesn’t explain everything that we want to know.
As you can see in the screenshot below, the webpage that explains Switch 2 accessories shows a menu screen where a USB Keyboard, set to US English, is connected to the console. The website does not say in writing that the Switch 2 can use USB keyboards, because this section actually explains how to make USB cameras work.
So, that’s certainly unsatisfying as it is. Does every USB keyboard work with the Switch 2? How about Bluetooth keyboards? While we’ll have to wait for either Nintendo to explain this clearly, or to get our hands on the console itself to test it, we can make some smart guesses based on what we already know about the Nintendo Switch.
The Nintendo Switch’s support page about the dock’s USB ports says this:
“You can use a USB keyboard or USB mouse with software that supports it. Check with the software author to find out if a keyboard and/or mouse is supported.
* Nintendo cannot guarantee that all USB keyboards / USB mice will be compatible.”
A select number of Switch games offer mouse and keyboard support as is, such as Quake, Fortnite, and Tactics Ogre: Reborn. While Nintendo allowed the functionality to be added in, they didn’t use it for their own games, such as Super Mario Maker 2 or Game Maker Garage. For that matter, tons of other games on the Switch that could have used mouse functionality didn’t have it. Cities Skylines has mouse and keyboard support on PlayStation and Xbox, but not on the Switch.
Now, what may make things different here is that the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons come with a built-in mouse mode. We have already seen that some third party games, such as Civilization VII, are already making use of the Switch 2’s mouse mode. While we’re certain that most developers will still need to add in extra work for keyboard support to be added to Switch 2 games, they must sure see that there will be a sufficiently huge enough demand from fans that it will be worth their while to add it in. But then again, companies like Hori may make their own dedicated console mouse and keyboard controllers, such as the Tactical Assault Commander, just for the Switch 2. It’s certainly something that will be worth looking out for in the near future.
