Nintendo Switch Online: paid service to launch next week, free trial week announced

On September 13th (North America and United Kingdom) / September 14th (Europe and Japan), the latest Nintendo Direct will be livestreamed on the usual platforms. During this presentation (delayed due to the recent earthquake that hit Hokkaido in Japan), Nintendo will finally share more details about its upcoming Nintendo Switch Online paid service.

Also, the company has announced that the paid service will launch on September 18th in North America, and September 19th in Europe and Japan (different days due to the timezones, not a staggered launch).

Nintendo previously confirmed that Nintendo Switch users will not be automatically subbed to the Nintendo Switch Online paid service: they will have to buy a subscription manually either via the Nintendo eShop directly, or via a Download Code available at select retailers. In other words, come September 18th/19th, you will have to get a subscription yourself, Nintendo will not do it for you.

If you’re still unsure whether Nintendo Switch Online is for you, you will be able to try the full service for a week thanks to a 7-day free trial, available from the Nintendo eShop at launch. Nintendo specifies that you will have to sign up for it, which means you will not automatically get the 7-day free trial. That also means you will be able to save that trial for later, and that you will not have to use it right away at launch.

Unfortunately, we don’t know what happens once the free trial is over, but it’s unlikely the subscription will be renewed automatically.

Nintendo Switch Online: the paid service launches on September 18th in North America, and September 19th in Europe and Japan. The Upcoming Games page has been updated!

Source: Nintendo (Twitter)