Nintendo Switch Online Service Will Launch Next Week

Nintendo has finally revealed that the Nintendo Switch Online service will launch next week, specifically on Sept. 18. This means that players who wish to keep playing online will soon have to start paying for a subscription.

The launch of the Nintendo Switch Online service was announced by the company on Twitter. The service will have a one-week free trial before users will have to start paying for it. A one-month subscription will cost $3.99, while a three-month subscription will cost $7.99. There’s also a yearly plan that costs $19.99 and a family membership for 12 months that costs $34.99. The free trial and the paid subscriptions will be available from the Nintendo Switch eShop.

The most important perk included with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is the capability to play games online. This will be required for a bunch of competitive games like “Splatoon 2,” “ARMS,” “Mari Kart 8 Deluxe” and “Mario Tennis Aces.” Another perk in getting a subscription is getting access to 20 classic NES games at launch. The NES games will also feature online play and Nintendo said that it will keep adding classic titles regularly.

A subscription will also allow users to back up their saved data to the cloud. To manage all activities related to the Nintendo Switch Online service, users will have to install the Online app, which is available now for iOS and Android devices.

Nintendo said that it will share more information on the Switch Online service tomorrow, Sept. 13, during its Direct live stream. The Nintendo Direct live stream was originally scheduled to happen last week on Sept. 6, but it was postponed out of respect for the victims of the terrible earthquake that hit Hokkaido, Japan. The Nintendo Direct live stream will go live tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET.

Nintendo Direct live streams typically include announcements of new 3DS and Switch games that are going to be available later this year and the near future. Polygon speculates that the live stream tomorrow will be the same exact one that was prepared to be shown last week. Nintendo produces this kind of event ahead of time, so it’s safe to assume that nothing has changed. Fans will be able to watch the live stream on Nintendo’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.

The only thing that’s still a complete mystery about the Nintendo Switch Online service are the "special offers" included with a subscription. Nintendo will likely shed some light on them tomorrow.