What Can You Do With a Modded Switch?

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A modded Nintendo Switch opens up a massive world of features beyond what Nintendo intended. Whether you’re looking to manage your game library more efficiently, run emulators, use custom themes, or even stream PC and PS5 games to your Switch, custom firmware makes it all possible.

Here’s a full breakdown of what you can do, organized by category.

Advanced Boot Options

Your modded Switch isn’t limited to just the stock operating system. You can dual-boot into entirely different platforms:

  • Android – Install a full Android environment on your Switch for all typical Android apps and functions, including emulators with improved performance compared to running them natively on the Switch OS.
  • Linux – Install a full Linux desktop environment with access to Linux apps and emulators. Like Android, some emulators perform significantly better on Linux than they do through the Switch’s native homebrew ecosystem.

Game Management and Modding

One of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades on a modded Switch is how much easier it becomes to manage your games, saves, and mods.

  • DBI – The Swiss army knife of game management. Over USB, you can drag and drop to install games, back up and restore saves, back up purchased games, and transfer files. Over WiFi via FTP, you can install games or browse the SD card remotely. DBI also includes tools for deleting cache and orphaned files, syncing the clock, removing parental controls, and more.
  • Edison SE – A Cheat Engine-style tool for editing basic in-game values like points, coins, and experience in most Switch games.
  • JKSV – Back up and restore game saves, including modded or completed saves found online.
  • Checkpoint – Back up and restore game saves with built-in cheat injection support.
  • Game Mods – gamebanana.com hosts mods for many Switch games including Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Smash Ultimate, Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, and more. Mods range from cosmetic texture swaps to full gameplay overhauls.
  • PKHex – Extract saves with JKSV, DBI, or Checkpoint and use PKHex on your PC to edit inventories, modify Pokemon values, and even upload them to Pokemon Home if they have legal values.

Improved Gaming Experience

Custom firmware lets you tweak and enhance how games look, feel, and perform on your Switch.

  • FIZEAU – Custom color correction and brightness adjustment designed specifically for non-OLED Switch models. If your screen looks washed out compared to an OLED, FIZEAU helps close the gap.
  • MissionControl – Use PS5, PS4, Xbox, Wii, and many other controllers wirelessly on your Switch without any adapters. Just pair via Bluetooth.
  • SYS-CLK – Overclock your Switch to improve performance in emulators and games with frame rate issues. Also improves resolution in games with dynamic resolution scaling and enables the performance headroom needed for 60fps mods.
  • SYS-DVR – Stream Switch gameplay to a PC over USB. Useful for recording or streaming without a capture card.
  • Themezer / NXThemes Installer – Install custom themes and layouts for the Switch home screen and system menus. Completely change the look and feel of your Switch UI.

Emulation on Switch OS

The Switch is a surprisingly capable emulation device right out of the box with custom firmware.

  • Tico – A polished emulation frontend with easy setup, a clean game navigation UI, and built-in optimized settings per console. Supports Dreamcast, GBA, GB, GBC, Sega Saturn, Game Gear, Genesis, Master System, NES, PSP, PS1, Sega CD, and SNES.
  • MelonDS – Standalone Nintendo DS emulator with good compatibility.
  • RetroArch – The multi-system emulation platform. Performance varies by system:
    • Excellent native performance: NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, GBA, GBC
    • Good performance with overclocking: PS1, N64, Dreamcast

Emulation on Android and Linux

Running emulators through Android or Linux on your Switch unlocks more powerful systems that the native Switch OS can’t handle well:

  • GameCube – Playable on most titles
  • Wii – Some games playable
  • PS2 – Some games playable with the right settings
  • Xbox – Few games playable, poor performance overall

Everything available on the Switch OS emulation side also runs on Android and Linux, often with better performance.

Streaming and Remote Play

One of the most underrated features of a modded Switch — turning it into a portable streaming terminal for your other gaming platforms.

  • Chiaki – Stream games from your PS5 to your Switch via remote play. Play your PS5 library from bed or anywhere in your house.
  • Moonlight – Stream games from your PC to your Switch. Works with any GPU (including integrated graphics) when paired with the Sunshine app on PC — not just NVIDIA. Great for playing PC games portably on the same network. Remote streaming also works on Android and Linux for even more flexibility.

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