Nintendo recently launched a significant update for the Switch, introducing Virtual Game Cards as a way to share digital games with others. However, to counter this, Nintendo closed a loophole that allowed players to enjoy shared games online while someone else was also playing the game.
Eurogamer first spotted the change, and it's a significant one for people who liked "loaning" games to friends while still playing them themselves.
The system allowed you to log in to your Nintendo account on a second Switch and download the game to that console. From there, you could play the game online on both your original Switch and the one on which you installed the game.
Virtual Game Cards: What's changed
Now, you can still share games in the same way, but you can't play the game online on both consoles anymore. So while it's nice that Nintendo isn't forcing players to use Virtual Game Cards if they prefer the old sharing method, it's disappointing that online play across two consoles won't work anymore.
To be fair, it probably shouldn't have worked this way all along. You can't run physical games on two consoles at the same time, either, so it only makes sense for it to work in the same way with digital copies.
After all, Nintendo's goal is to sell both you and your friend a copy of the game, not offer freebies.
If you decide to enjoy Virtual Game Cards, you can use Nintendo's handy website to manage who can play your virtual games, a nice feature.
For anyone looking to get their hands on a console, be sure to follow our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order live blog, as we'll monitor restocks as they happen to help increase your chances of finding one.
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