A day after a software-only jailbreak for the Nintendo Switch 2 went public, the app used to trigger it has started disappearing from eShop storefronts, and someone has already gotten a homebrew launcher running on the console.
The exploit, called ns2jb, was built by security researcher Sammy Hajhamid, who goes by pepsipu online. It allows native code execution on Switch 2 consoles running firmware 23.0.1 without any hardware modification. Hajhamid demonstrated it by modifying Mario Kart World to add unofficial characters, including Hatsune Miku, Peter Griffin and Cinnamoroll, according to his technical writeup and documentation posted on GitLab.
The method relies on SmileBASIC 4, a programming application that first shipped on the original Switch and runs on the Switch 2 through backwards compatibility. Hajhamid's research describes chaining vulnerabilities in that app with weaknesses in the console's filesystem services to get code running with elevated system-module privileges.
It's important to be clear about what this isn't. Ns2jb is a tethered exploit, meaning it has to be triggered again every time the console restarts. It doesn't grant kernel-level access and it doesn't install permanent custom firmware, the kind that would survive reboots and let someone run pirated games by default.
Still, the pace of follow-on experimentation has been fast. VideoCardz reported on October 23 that X user Alex CVJ shared footage appearing to show a Homebrew Launcher running on a Switch 2. A separate clip from Ravens Claw X, also posted that day, shows what's labeled HBLauncher v1.0.0 on the console. A day earlier, the same account posted footage claimed to demonstrate Vulkan graphics support, the low-level API that games and other graphics-heavy software use, running on Switch 2 hardware.
None of this footage, on its own, proves a complete or stable homebrew environment is ready for public use. These look like early tests built on top of a fresh exploit, not a finished toolkit.
Meanwhile, SmileBASIC 4 has reportedly started vanishing from eShop listings. VideoCardz said the app disappeared from North American and European storefronts first, with users in Japan reporting the same shortly after. Nintendo hasn't said publicly why, and it's not clear whether the company or the app's publisher made the call. Some users say they can still reach SmileBASIC 4 through alternative storefront links, including pages opened from the console's News section, so the removal appears inconsistent across regions and access routes.
Even a full removal wouldn't erase anything. Copies already downloaded onto a console stay there whether or not the app remains listed for sale, which means the disappearance mainly affects people who haven't grabbed it yet.
What happens next depends on two separate threads: whether Nintendo issues a firmware update that patches the underlying vulnerabilities, and whether the homebrew scene manages to build something more durable than a tethered exploit before that happens. Right now, both sides are still working it out in public, one video at a time.
GDFiled by The Games Desk
Consoles, handhelds, PC gaming and the platforms and hardware behind them.
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