Nintendo Is Changing the Way Digital Games Work

Nintendo is overhauling how digital downloads work on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 with a new feature it’s calling “Virtual Game Cards.” Virtual Game Cards, which the company said during Thursday’s Nintendo Direct livestream will launch in late April, are designed to better mimic the flexibility of physical games.

It works like this: After buying a digital version of a game, the virtual card is loaded onto the player’s Switch. Players can load or “eject” these game cards; with two systems, a player could eject a game on one system and load it onto another to play from that handheld. Although players will need a local connection to do so, it allows them to swap multiple games between systems quickly.

The feature could fundamentally change the landscape for digitally downloaded games, which have become increasingly popular over the past several years as brick-and-mortar retailers have shuttered and physical copies have become less important to some players. Digital copies offer a fast, easy way to get a new game, as long as players have an internet connection. But ownership of a digital game is far more murky than with physical media. Companies can remove digital games from storefronts at any time, and there’s no fun secondary market for collectors. It’s also not possible to resell a digital game, or loan it out without sharing account details.

What Nintendo is doing with Virtual Game Cards does offer some flexibility on that last point. The virtual cards can be lent out to other players via a local connection in Family Groups, which link together several Nintendo accounts. But only one game can be shared between two people at one time for two weeks. It’s unclear if a game that’s been lent out can still be played by the original owner. WIRED has reached out to Nintendo for clarification and will update accordingly.

Production and sales of physical games media and consoles stand to take a massive hit in the US if President Trump follows through with proposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, where many video game components are made. The Entertainment Software Association released a statement in February warning that “tariffs on video game devices and related products would negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans and would harm the industry’s significant contributions to the US economy.” Tariffs could both increase prices and reduce availability for physical game products, making digital games more attractive to consumers.

While Nintendo shared many details about Virtual Game Cards during Thursday’s event, it did not share any news about the Switch 2. Another Nintendo Direct focusing on the new console is planned for April 2. The company did offer a brief look at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which will give its heroine Samus mysterious new physic abilities. The game is still expected this year, though it’s possible a firm release date will be announced alongside the Switch 2 news next week.