Switch 2 jailbroken with help from AI and an old programming game

A researcher has reportedly jailbroken the Nintendo Switch 2 using a software-only exploit, and OpenAI’s Codex helped build it. The modder, Sammy Hajhamid, who goes by “pepsipu,” calls the exploit “ns2jb.” ¹

The exploit runs on the console’s latest firmware, version 23.0.1. ² It lets arbitrary native code run on the machine, which in plain words means the console will execute programs Nintendo never approved. The creator says that opens the door to homebrew, reverse engineering, modding Switch 2 games and backing up save files. ²

As a demonstration, the modder posted footage of a modified Mario Kart World with extra characters, including Cinnamoroll, Peter Griffin, Hatsune Miku and the red Angry Bird. ¹²

What “tethered” means. The jailbreak does not survive a restart. You have to run it from a game each time the console powers on, and when the Switch 2 is turned off you are back at square one. ¹² The entry point is SmileBASIC 4, a title that lets users program their own games. Another modder claims the game is “not strictly needed,” though that is a claim, not a demonstrated fact. ¹

This is not a one-click hack. The instructions are hard to follow for the average player, and the process has to be repeated after every shutdown. ³ Users on the Switch 2 hacks subreddit are still debating how big a deal it really is. ¹

Nintendo’s response. SmileBASIC 4 appears to have been removed from the eShop since the exploit surfaced. Nintendo has not openly acknowledged the exploit. ² Seen it before: the same program was pulled from the 3DS eShop in 2016 after a homebrew exploit, part of a pattern in which a game becomes the way in and then disappears from sale. ⁴

AI is the other thread. Codex is credited with building this one, and Sony has been dealing with its own wave of jailbreak attempts on the PlayStation 5, with firmware updates aimed at security holes. ³ Whether AI-assisted tooling really speeds up console exploits is something this single case suggests rather than proves.

What you should do. Nothing, for now. This is not a threat to ordinary players, since it needs a specific game, a manual process and a console restarted from scratch each time. If you are curious about homebrew, know that it is early, unofficial and unsupported, and that using it may carry risks to your console or online access that nobody has measured yet.

Our read: A tethered, software-only exploit that dies on reboot is a proof of concept, not a platform, and the 2016 SmileBASIC precedent suggests Nintendo will close the door quickly. The more interesting question is the method. If a single modder with a coding assistant can get this far this fast, expect more attempts, and expect Nintendo’s patches to arrive in a hurry. Further news is likely to come from the exploit’s published write-up and from any firmware update Nintendo ships next.

Footnotes

1. theverge.com, “AI-Assisted Software Jailbreak Emerges for Nintendo Switch 2”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Nintendo Life, “Switch 2 Supposedly Jailbroken Via Software-Only Exploit”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Polygon, “Nintendo Switch 2 Suffers Major Exploit in Latest AI-Assisted Hack”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩²

4. Nintendo Life, “SmileBASIC Gets Taken Down from the 3DS eShop Due to A Homebrew Exploit”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩