Nintendo expands Switch Online with GameCube access for Switch 2 users

Nintendo is using its back catalog as a live business tool, not a museum piece. The May 13 update to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack broadened access to classic systems while making Nintendo Switch 2 ownership feel more valuable, because GameCube games are reserved for Switch 2 users on the service’s premium tier.

The Expansion Pack now covers Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy, Super NES, Game Boy, NES and SEGA Genesis. Nintendo prices the individual plan at $49.99 a year and the family plan at $79.99 a year, with support for up to eight Nintendo Accounts. Nintendo also says Switch Online first launched on September 18, 2018, underscoring how the service has grown from a utility add-on into a core part of the company’s platform strategy.

For employees, the significance goes well beyond nostalgia. Every classic release requires licensing work, emulation support, quality assurance, interface design, customer guidance and policy alignment across the service. The GameCube rollout makes that even more explicit: Nintendo Switch 2 owners get access to GameCube - Nintendo Classics through the Expansion Pack tier, turning a hardware generation shift into a subscription milestone as well. Nintendo launched the Switch 2 in the United States on June 5, 2025 at a suggested retail price of $449.99.

The Virtual Boy side of the rollout shows how carefully Nintendo is packaging its legacy content. Nintendo said Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics would arrive on February 17, 2026, and it opened pre-purchases for accessories on January 27, 2026. The replica accessory costs $99.99 and the cardboard model costs $24.99, both needed to experience the games in 3D. Nintendo says the Virtual Boy library is available in the United States and Canada, which makes the hardware requirement part of a controlled revival rather than a simple ROM drop.

Nintendo also added more Virtual Boy games in the May 13 update. Nintendo Everything reported that the update included V-Tetris, Jack Bros., Space Invaders Virtual Collection, Virtual Bowling and Vertical Force, available after downloading the latest Virtual Boy app update and requiring Expansion Pack membership. That kind of staggered rollout signals an ongoing service with recurring support demands, not a one-time catalog dump.

Nintendo had already shown the direction of travel when it launched GameCube - Nintendo Classics on June 6, 2025 with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX and Soulcalibur II. Together, the GameCube and Virtual Boy programs show how Nintendo is linking preservation, hardware differentiation and subscription retention into one operating model, with Switch 2 at the center of it.