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  1. Games
  2. Nintendo Switch

Preparing for the Switch 2, Nintendo announces "Virtual Game Cards" you can move between consoles and loan to friends for up to 2 weeks

News
By Iain Harris published 27 March 2025

And it's coming late April

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Nintendo shows off the Switch and Switch 2's Virtual Game Cards system with two Miis
(Image credit: Nintendo)
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Just in time for the Nintendo Switch 2's imminent launch later this year, Nintendo is introducing a new feature for the OG Switch and its upcoming successor called 'Virtual Game Cards' to make digital game management all the easier.

That comes from the latest Nintendo Direct, which features a segment in which Ninty unveils a new feature called 'Virtual Game Cards' that will land in a new update in late April.

The easy way to explain it is that downloading games virtually will allow you to treat those games as if you had them physically. That means you can move a game between devices you own pretty freely and even loan it to a mate for 14 days. Once the two weeks are up, that game will return to your library. It all works by setting up a 'family group' containing eight people at the most.

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Watch full video here:

If you're wondering, Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch 2 will support this feature. It's long been confirmed that the Switch 2 will be backward compatible, so it looks like Ninty is making the switch to the new console all the easier regarding the game libraries you've been curating over the years.

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All of this sets us up nicely for the special Nintendo Switch 2 Direct next week. While that showcase will reveal more about the next Nintendo console's hardware and software, we now have a better idea of how we might manage our existing game libraries moving forward. I'm just happy to demo a friend's game without the immediate need to take the financial plunge.

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If you're curious about what else was revealed during the recent stream, our dedicated explainer covers everything announced during the March Nintendo Direct.

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CATEGORIES
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Iain Harris
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I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.

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