If you follow the GamesIndustry.biz site on Twitter, you may have seen this rather alarming post pop up in your feed. In that post, the site claims that Nintendo Switch services are being discontinued in 2026, with access to things like online play and the eShop going away in the process.
A very misleading Twitter post saying Switch Online will close in 2026
It’s quite the story to say the least, and one which at first glance seems like a prime example of Nintendo’s questionable decision making.
But here’s the thing:
It’s not accurate. At least, not fully.
Instead, it actually refers to Switch consoles released in China. And it’s only those consoles which are going to see their online features shut down in 2026.
So, why is this? Why is Nintendo shuttering the Switch’s online services in China when they’re fine everywhere else? What made them decide to seemingly just pull out of such an important video game market?
Well, it likely all has to do with the deal Nintendo has with Tencent there. As mentioned by video game analyst Daniel Ahmad on Twitter, Nintendo isn’t the sole party responsible for distributing the console:
I've received a number of questions asking why this announcement was made. Here's a quick explainer:
China has a unique regulatory landscape when it comes to foreign companies operating within the country. Video games for example require government approval before they can… https://t.co/IHs1uyLBmN
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 27, 2024
Instead, they teamed up with Tencent to offer a special version of the Switch that only has access to China specific online services.
So it’s these services that are shutting down, likely due to the end of the agreement with Tencent. It’s not a global thing, it’s a local publishing deal ending and that’s it.
And it’s probably not even going to affect the Chinese market all that much either. As Daniel also mentions in his post, the majority of gamers in the country aren’t even playing the Chinese version of the game in the first place. They’re just playing versions imported from other regions instead, likely in part to avoid the aforementioned region locking.
Hence while the shutdown is unfortunate for a few people, it’s unlikely to be a huge deal overall.
What’s more, there are a few things that might make the situation better over there too. For one thing, affected players can apparently get up to 4 free games for the console. So, Chinese Switch players can get any of the following games for free as compensation:
- Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Exercises
- Flexible Brain School
- Kirby Star Allies
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Mario Tennis Aces
- New Pokémon Snap
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- Pokémon Go! Pikachu
- Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Super Mario Party
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
And if they’re really unable to import a new console, they can just mod their existing one to use the OS/online services found elsewhere too. There’s a homebrew style tool for that after all…
So don’t worry folks. We’re not going to see Nintendo Switch Online shut down in 2026. That’s just something that’s happening for Tencent’s Switch consoles in China, and it probably won’t even affect many players there either.
Source:
Nintendo Switch eShop closing 2026 in China (Official Announcement)