Console manufacturers and hackers have a fun game they like to play. Hackers will find a way to jailbreak a system, and the console maker will push an update that renders that jailbreak inept. The two parties go back and forth in this cycle. This is the game Nintendo is currently stuck in, and its most recent firmware update seeks to end a popular Switch 2 jailbreak.
At the end of October, a hacker posted on X that they had jailbroken the Switch 2 and showed footage of a modded version of Mario Kart World running on the console. The exploit involved using the console programming app SmileBASIC 4; it was difficult, but it worked. In the days since the initial post, hackers were able to further expand on the exploit and gain access to the console’s system files and dump games in ROM form. These are both noteworthy as important building blocks for emulation software. Then came firmware update 23.5.0.
As reported by X user Oatmeal Dome, the latest Switch 2 update puts an end to the exploit used in recent jailbreaks. Now it is no longer possible to dump and mod games, except for some cartridge games. Nintendo is lucky that the exploit relied on software vulnerabilities, as it has allowed the company to patch it out. The only question now is how long it will take for a new exploit to surface.
AI vibe-coding has made hacking consoles like the Switch 2 easier than ever
Image: Nintendo
While jailbreaking and homebrew development have been around forever, the speed at which hackers can break into consoles has grown exponentially in recent months thanks to AI tools. The initial exploit that was used to jailbreak the Switch 2 partially relied on generative AI tools. Vibe-coding has exploded on the hacking scene lately, largely due to the release of Claude Opus 5.5 in September. It has also been used to jailbreak the PlayStation 5, with Sony having to similarly release updates periodically to patch the proverbial holes.
Console jailbreaks aren’t the only thing AI vibe-coding is being used for. If you’ve seen viral videos of people adding Mario to Elden Ring or skateboarding to Call of Duty, then you’ve seen the work of these tools. The only issue is that most of these aren’t actually playable products. Others have used AI to port games like the original Halo to browsers. Even Xbox has gotten in on it, announcing Xbox Labs, a new division that — while not outright mentioning AI and vibe-coding — appears to be heavily inspired by these trends.
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