Nintendo is making it easier for families to share their love of gaming this holiday season by introducing a new digital gifting feature for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The upcoming addition to Nintendo eShop will allow players to purchase digital games and other content directly for members of their Nintendo Account family group, giving them another way to surprise friends and family without having to purchase physical copies.
The feature will arrive on November 16, allowing users to gift eligible digital games, downloadable content, and upgrade packs purchased through Nintendo eShop. Rather than purchasing a game and finding another way to transfer access, players will be able to select the option to give a product as a gift directly from its eShop product page.
Sending a gift will be relatively straightforward. After finding the desired game or downloadable content, users can select the Give as a Gift option before proceeding with their purchase. They can then choose a recipient from their Nintendo Account family group, select which of their linked systems should receive the gift, and customize the presentation with a gift wrap colour and other available options. Once the purchase is completed, the gift will be sent immediately.
Recipients will find their gifts waiting on their system’s HOME Menu, where they can accept the purchase and start playing. Nintendo Account family groups can contain up to eight members, making the feature particularly useful for households with multiple Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 owners.
There are, however, a few restrictions worth keeping in mind. Not every digital product will necessarily be eligible for gifting, supervised accounts cannot send digital gifts, and Nintendo will limit the number of gift purchases that can be made within a given period. Consequently, players should not expect the feature to provide unrestricted gifting across every item available through Nintendo eShop.
The addition is a welcome development for Nintendo’s digital storefront, particularly as more players build their game libraries through digital purchases. Although Nintendo already allows users to lend Virtual Game Cards to members of their family groups, that system is different from actually purchasing a game for someone else. Digital gifting gives players a more direct way to buy games for family members while allowing recipients to keep the purchased content in their own libraries.
The feature will be available on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on November 16, provided the systems are running software version 23.5.0 or later. The system update is scheduled to begin rolling out on November 9.