Nintendo has unveiled a new feature for Switch and Switch 2 that’ll let players share their digital games with another console or Family Group members in the same way they might swap a physical cartridge. It’s called Virtual Game Card and it’s coming to Switch 1 in “late April”.
Here’s how it works: once the feature becomes available, any digital purchase made will be added to the associated Switch as a Virtual Game Card. By default, any registered users on the main console can play the game, just as they would with any other digital purchase. But there’s obviously more to it than that.
Virtual Game Cards are managed on a separate screen, with players able to chose whether they’re considered ‘loaded’ or ‘ejected’. An ejected Virtual Game Card can, firstly, be played on a second Switch that’s owned by the same main account holder – with users able to freely eject and load cartridges between up to two owned machines. Nintendo notes local communication with the other console is required to enable the feature for the first time.
However, Virtual Game Cards can also be lent to anyone within a Nintendo Account Family Group, which can support up to eight Nintendo Account users. Again, this initially requires the lending user to connect to the Family Group member’s console locally, after which it’s simply a case of choosing the title being lent and who it’s being lent to.