Nintendo will kill the Switch’s Chinese eShop in May 2026

The Nintendo Switch eShop will no longer be available in China after May 15, 2026.

In a translated post, Nintendo announced it would close its digital storefront for the country, though it didn’t provide a reason for the shutdown. After that date, Switch codes and DLC can no longer be redeemed, and other “network-related services” will no longer be available.

Prior to the May 15 shutdown, the Switch eShop will stop selling digital games and free trials after March 31, 2026.

Nintendo and Tencent’s Switch partnershipNintendo partnered with Tencent to bring the hybrid console to China in 2019, two years after its initial release. China is now the latest country to lose access to the eShop: last year, Nintendo basically shut the storefront down in Russia, making it one of many companies that retaliated against the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

This past April, the developer ended online support for the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS after it’d pulled the plug on eShops for both systems last year.

As a way to make up for the eShop closure, Nintendo is offering Chinese Switch owners up to four free games that can be redeemed between November 27, 2024 and March 31, 2026. Those games include Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon: Let’s Go! Pikachu (and its sibling game Let’s Go! Eevee), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and the full list can be found here.

About the Author

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.