Nintendo Switch Online Adding Classic NES Game Next Week

Key Takeaways

• The NES version of Tetris is coming to Nintendo Switch Online on December 12, mere weeks following its 35th anniversary.
• Historical trends suggest that Nintendo Switch Online might add at least one other game in December 2024.

Nintendo Switch Online is adding the NES version of Tetris on December 12. This inclusion will further bolster the ever-growing selection of classic titles that Nintendo Switch Online has to offer.

Unlike PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo’s subscription service doesn’t have a fixed schedule for new releases. However, it typically introduces new titles every few months, with such additions being more plentiful around special events like anniversaries. Most recently, the first two Donkey Kong Land games made their way to Nintendo Switch Online in late November 2024, followed by Mercs, Vectorman ToeJam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron, which were added to the Expansion Pack-tier library.

The NES edition of Tetris is now set to follow suit next week, with Nintendo just announcing that the classic game will be added to the NSO content catalog on December 12. This arrival may not come as a surprise to the most attentive of fans, as Tetris was already confirmed to be coming to Nintendo Switch Online back in late August 2024. Although NSO typically adds multiple titles to its library simultaneously, the NES version of Tetris will seemingly be an exception to this pattern and debut on its own—unless Nintendo has any last-minute surprises in store, which isn’t out of the question.

Tetris for NES Just Turned 35

Tetris will reach the Nintendo Switch Online library shortly following the 35th anniversary of its North American release. As is the case with all NES titles, this upcoming addition will be available across all tiers of Nintendo’s subscription service. The game itself won’t be the first rendition of the beloved classic to make its way to NSO, as the Game Boy version of Tetris has already been available to Nintendo’s subscribers since February 2023.

More NSO Games Might Be Coming in December 2024

Based on Nintendo’s release patterns, it’s possible the NES version of Tetris won’t be the final addition to the NSO library in 2024. Since its launch in 2018, NSO has consistently added multiple titles to its catalog each December. Even in 2023, its least eventful year, the service still received two new titles in December: 1080° Snowboarding and Harvest Moon 64.

Number of Games Nintendo Switch Online Added Each December

2024 will thus either mark a new low for December NSO releases, or see Nintendo introduce at least one more surprise title alongside the NES version of Tetris. Looking at the slightly bigger picture, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has recently confirmed that the Switch 2 will support Nintendo Switch Online. Tetris is hence near-guaranteed to be playable on the company’s upcoming device—unless its NSO stint proves unusually short-lived.