Switch 2 still has no YouTube app — and the Reddit workaround just got patched

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched in June 2025 without a YouTube app — and nearly a year later, it still doesn't have one. Google publicly promised support was "coming soon" back in June 2025 and again in February 2026, but no app has appeared and neither company has offered a timeline or explanation.

For comparison, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S shipped with Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and more on day one. The Switch 2 has none of them.

The workaround

Reddit user KampyL found a creative fix. Download the free game Super Animal Royale from the eShop, navigate to its news section, and tap one of the game's trailers. The link opens in the Switch 2's built-in browser — which isn't supposed to be accessible to users — and from there you can search for any YouTube video.

The method worked, but barely. Video was capped at 360p, thumbnails failed to render properly, and there was no way to log into a Google account, so your subscriptions and watch history were inaccessible. As Dexerto reported, Nintendo patched the loophole within hours of the story going public.

A familiar pattern

This isn't the first time Nintendo has kept YouTube waiting. The original Switch didn't receive a YouTube app until more than 13 months after it launched — and that app is confirmed incompatible with the Switch 2, per Nintendo Support. No technical reason has been given for why it can't carry over.

The speed of the patch is telling. Nintendo moved fast enough to close the gap within a day, but hasn't moved at all on the underlying problem in nearly a year. Whether the delay is a technical issue, a licensing holdout, or a deliberate platform choice remains unclear — neither Nintendo nor Google has said anything publicly.

If you bought a Switch 2 partly to use as a TV-connected media device, you're still out of luck. For now, YouTube on Switch 2 simply doesn't exist in any usable form.