Nintendo Releases Second Switch 2 Update for July 2025

The 20.3.0 OS update for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 is now available for download. While it doesn't introduce any big features, the new release reportedly resets at least one user-facing Switch 2 setting.

With Nintendo's latest console being an iterative upgrade over its predecessor, it uses the same operating system. Officially called Nintendo Switch System Software and code-named Horizon, the OS has received several revisions since the Switch 2 was released on June 5.

Donkey Kong Bananza Pauline and DK looking surprised curious on Nintendo Switch 2 yellow bokeh background 2x1 composite

PSA: You May Want to Keep This Nintendo Switch 2 Setting Disabled

Nintendo Switch 2 owners should be aware of a niche setting that can make their console run consistently hot, even when not in use.

Posts

By Dominik Bošnjak

Continuing this trend, another Switch OS update rolled out on Monday, July 28, and is now available for download on the latest two generations of Nintendo consoles. Identified by version number 20.3.0, the patch arrives with a changelog containing only one item: system stability improvements. Nintendo provided no further details, save for stating that the changes are geared toward improving the overall user experience of both the Switch and Switch 2.

New Switch 2 Update Reportedly Changes HDR Settings

Early social media reactions suggest that the July 28 OS update may include undocumented changes. Specifically, some users report that their Switch 2 HDR settings appear to have changed following installation, though opinions differ on whether the adjustments have improved or worsened image quality. Users who believe the console now handles HDR output less effectively when docked can recalibrate it by opening System Settings, navigating to the Display tab, and selecting the "Adjust HDR" option at the bottom. This allows for manual color balance adjustments when the Switch 2 is outputting an HDR image to a compatible TV or monitor.

Right above that option in the Display interface is an "HDR Output" dropdown menu, which most Switch 2 users will want to set to "Compatible Software Only" rather than have it enabled for every game. The default setting can result in washed-out, overexposed, or otherwise unappealing colors in older titles not designed with high dynamic range in mind.

The 20.3.0 patch is the second Switch OS revision for July 2025, and the fourth since Nintendo's latest console hit the store shelves in early June. The previous Switch 2 update, identified by version number 20.2.0, reportedly reset the brightness setting slider. However, that change appears to have been either unintentional or the result of an underlying tweak not present in the latest patch, as updating the console to 20.3.0 doesn't affect the brightness slider this time around, according to The Best War Games's testing. Based on Nintendo’s recent update cadence, at least a handful more Switch 2 updates are likely to roll out before the end of 2025.