Nintendo Switch will support digital game gifting starting November 16 with firmware update 23.5.0. The feature allows players within a family group on the eShop to gift games to one another by navigating to a game's store page, selecting a checkbox, and choosing from eight colors of digital wrapping paper before the game appears on the recipient's system.
The gifting capability comes with significant restrictions. Supervised accounts cannot gift games. The number of games purchasable and giftable within an unspecified period is limited. Some games may be unavailable for gifting. Gifted games arrive immediately, preventing advance purchases for holidays. The feature will work on both the original Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
Nintendo joins Xbox in offering direct digital game gifting on console, though the ability remains far narrower than Steam's decade-old system. Steam and PC platforms allow gifting to any user, while Nintendo restricts the feature to family group members only. The company described the feature as arriving "just in time for the holidays."