Nintendo has unveiled a new feature for Switch and Switch 2 that’ll let players share their digital games with another console or Family Group members in the same way they might swap a physical cartridge. It’s called Virtual Game Card and it’s coming to Switch 1 in “late April”.
Here’s how it works: once the feature becomes available, any digital purchase made will be added to the associated Switch as a Virtual Game Card. By default, any registered users on the main console can play the game, just as they would with any other digital purchase. But there’s obviously more to it than that.
Virtual Game Cards are managed on a separate screen, with players able to chose whether they’re considered ‘loaded’ or ‘ejected’. An ejected Virtual Game Card can, firstly, be played on a second Switch that’s owned by the same main account holder – with users able to freely eject and load cartridges between up to two owned machines. Nintendo notes local communication with the other console is required to enable the feature for the first time.
However, Virtual Game Cards can also be lent to anyone within a Nintendo Account Family Group, which can support up to eight Nintendo Account users. Again, this initially requires the lending user to connect to the Family Group member’s console locally, after which it’s simply a case of choosing the title being lent and who it’s being lent to.
Only one game at a time can be lent to each member within a Family Group and only for a total of 14 days. After the two weeks comes to an end, a Virtual Game Card will be automatically be returned to its original owner. Expect the Virtual Game Card system to feature in much the same way on Switch 2 when it releases later this year.
And speaking of which, we’re less than a week away from Nintendo’s long-awaited Switch 2 Direct, which should provide details on everything from launch titles to a release date for Nintendo’s hugely anticipated next machine. Things kick off next Wednesday, 2nd April, at 2pm in the UK – and we’ll be keeping tabs on all the important stuff with fingers and eyes.