Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo Switch Online is an online subscription service operated by Nintendo for its video game consoles, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The service is Nintendo's third-generation online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and the Nintendo Network. The subscription service officially launched on September 18, 2018; an expanded tier of the service, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, was released on October 25, 2021.
Nintendo Switch Online features include online multiplayer, cloud saving, voice chat via a smartphone app or GameChat, access to special profile pictures, as well as other promotions and offers. The service also includes access to a library of emulated retro games called Nintendo Classics. Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack includes access to additional retro systems' libraries and downloadable content for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom were added as additional benefits for Expansion Pack members in June 2025.
The base service on the original Nintendo Switch received mixed reviews; criticism at launch was directed at the requirement of using a smartphone app for voice chat, software library, limited selection of cloud save titles, and technical issues, although its price was praised. The Expansion Pack add-on also received divided responses, with controversy directed at its higher price.
History
The Nintendo Switch was announced in October 2016 and released on March 3, 2017. Nintendo stated in its pre-release announcements that the system would eventually require the purchase of a paid "online service" but that they would be available to all users at no charge until the service launched. Features announced included a companion smartphone app, as well as access to a free Nintendo Entertainment System game per month. The service was initially planned for late 2017. By June 2017, Nintendo pushed back the service's release until late December 2018, but did establish the pricing plans for the service, with an average annual price of, depending on the region. From July 21, 2017, Nintendo offered an interim period featuring online multiplayer free of charge and the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.Then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé explained that the delays were to ensure that the service was "world-class", and had enough of its announced functionality available on-launch to justify its cost. Nintendo aimed for a lower price point in comparison to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, as the service does not include the same range of features as these subscription services provide. Then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima stated that the price point was a subject of importance in designing the Switch's online services, and that regardless of what competitors were doing, "it's a matter of getting our content to the consumer at a price point that would make them happy, and then we're willing to look at what else we can do going forward."
The Nintendo Switch Online service was launched on September 18, 2018. A Nintendo Direct five days before the release detailed the full set of features that would be part of the Online service, including a larger and persistent library of NES games with 20 available on launch, and more to be added on an ongoing basis, as well as cloud save support. The initial launch covered 43 markets, with more markets expected to follow later.
In September 2018, same month as the Nintendo Switch Online service had its full launch, Nintendo Switch consoles imported to mainland China started experiencing connectivity issues, due to the Nintendo Switch Online service using Google's servers, which are blocked in China. The Nintendo Switch would eventually officially launch in China on December 10, 2019, with Tencent providing free network services powered by WeChat, in lieu of the Nintendo Switch Online service. These network services will be discontinued by May 15, 2026.
Subsequently, the Nintendo Switch Online service officially launched in South Korea and Hong Kong on April 23, 2019, in Israel on August 20, 2019, in Taiwan on September 9, 2025, and in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 18, 2025. The service was officially suspended in Russia on May 31, 2023, due to payment processors discontinuing business in the market for more than a year following the 2022 invasion in Ukraine.
On September 5, 2019, Super NES games were added to the service under a separate app. On December 1, 2020, the 11.0.0 software update for the Nintendo Switch system software was released, which added a Nintendo Switch Online app to the console's home screen.
Nintendo introduced a new subscription tier known as Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on October 26, 2021; this tier primarily adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis titles to the classic games service. It also added Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise as the first of several pieces of downloadable content that users have free access to for the duration of the subscription. This tier was priced at per year on average or for the family subscription option. In February 2023, Nintendo added Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance titles to the service. The standard subscription gave access to the Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles, while Game Boy Advance titles required the Expansion Pack tier. In November 2023, Nintendo launched a new version of the Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online in Japan for games that received a CERO Z rating, dubbed NINTENDO 64 Nintendo Switch Online +18. A similar version was released for users outside Japan in June 18, 2024, called Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online: MATURE 17+.
During a financial meeting in November 2024, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the Nintendo Switch Online service will come to the Nintendo Switch 2 as well.
Usage
By December 31, 2018, approximately three months after its launch, the service had gained more than eight million subscribers. Nintendo reported in late-April 2019 that the service had 9.8 million subscribers. The service reached over 10 million subscribers by July 2019, and over 15 million by January 2020. The service had reached over 26 million members by September 2020. By September 2021, the service had reached 32 million subscribers.In May 2022, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa claimed in an interview that subscribers of the paid service had "gradually" increased, adding that a large percentage of the new members were in the United States.
Features
Online multiplayer
Nintendo Switch Online is required to access online multiplayer on the majority of titles. Some free-to-play multiplayer games, such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Warframe, and games published in China, are exempt from this requirement, and can be played online freely without a subscription.Cloud saves
allows save data for supported games to be synchronized online, so it can be recovered if the user must move their Nintendo Account to a different Switch console or if they use multiple consoles. Users will lose access to their cloud saves should they allow their subscription to lapse, though there is a grace period of six months to renew the subscription and recover them before they are purged.The feature is not supported for some first and third party games, including those with certain forms of online functionality such as item trading and competitive rankings. Nintendo cites concerns surrounding the possibility of abuse that could "unfairly affect" gameplay as the reason for those games not allowing for cloud saves.