Nintendo Confirms Return of Mysterious Switch Online: Playtest Program — Now Compatible with Switch 2

The mysterious Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program volition erstwhile again instrumentality spot aboriginal this month, present compatible with Switch 2.

Nintendo has said this playtest volition beryllium different outing for the "same service" it antecedently shared with a prime fewer fans successful October 2024 — then, of course, conscionable connected the archetypal Switch.

While applications to enactment are unfastened to each Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers, numbers volition beryllium constricted — to conscionable 40,000 players globally — and the test's contents are erstwhile again designed to beryllium kept secret. (Though, of course, details of the hush-hush bundle antecedently spilled online past twelvemonth anyway.)

Applications to instrumentality portion successful the playtest either arsenic an idiosyncratic oregon radical unfastened aboriginal today, and tin past beryllium submitted adjacent Monday, July 21 to Wednesday July 23. If you're fortunate capable to beryllium picked, the playtest itself volition past beryllium disposable from Tuesday, July 29 to Monday, August 11.

Entrants indispensable beryllium implicit 18 years aged and person an progressive Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, with an relationship tied to either the US oregon Canada, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil oregon Mexico.

Nintendo's website with exertion details erstwhile again makes wide the company's tendency for secrecy:

"We petition that you bash not sermon oregon disclose contented from either the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program trial bundle oregon website with others," the institution states. "If you enactment arsenic a group, you whitethorn pass and speech accusation arsenic agelong arsenic it remains wrong the bounds of your group."

During past year's playtest, Nintendo utilized copyright strikes to spot screenshots of its concealed bundle scrubbed from societal media. But, of course, immoderate grounds of the playtest inactive exists — and it's beauteous casual to find via a speedy hunt connected reddit.

So what is it that's being tested? Widely compared to a Nintendo instrumentality connected Minecraft, the experiential crippled allows users to prime up and assemble blocks to make structures successful circumstantial areas of a shared world, alongside different users. The gameplay footage that concisely appeared online past twelvemonth appeared work-in-progress, arsenic you'd expect, but suggested Nintendo was keen to research the conception further with existent players and spot what radical got up to.

While this latest trial looks to beryllium for the aforesaid software, it volition beryllium intriguing to spot what caller features are included — if, oregon alternatively when, caller footage leaks erstwhile again.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social