Nintendo has just released a new system update for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 that, among some small changes and fixes, introduces a pretty massive new feature – the ability to gift digital games and content to other Switch users.
The Nintendo eShop gifting feature is set to arrive next week on November 17, 2026, with today’s system update preparing everyone’s consoles for its introduction. There will be some restrictions involved, namely that you’ll only be able to gift to users that are part of your Nintendo Account family group, which means you won’t be able to just send digital gifts to anyone on your friends list or a stranger.
Nintendo also states that some products may not be eligible for digital gifting, users will be limited in some capacity to how many digital gift purchases they can make in a given period, and Supervised accounts are unable to access the feature. In a very Nintendo touch, gifted content you send is delivered to the recipient’s dashboard in virtual gift wrap, in a colour of your choosing.
Here’s the full patch notes for the Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 system update out now:
Nintendo Switch 2 system firmware Ver. 23.5.0 update (Released 10 November, 2026)
- Added the ability to configure accessibility settings during first-time setup.
- Information on these accessibility settings can be found in Nintendo Switch 2 first-time setup.
- Added support for an upcoming feature to allow gifting of Nintendo eShop products to a Nintendo Account family group member.
- This gifting feature will be available after a Nintendo eShop update, scheduled for 17 November, 2026.
- The following updates have been made in Accessibility in System Settings:
- Added Portuguese (Portugal) to “Text to Speech” languages.
- Added Portuguese (Portugal) to the GameChat “Convert Text to Speech” languages.
- General adjustments and fixes were made to improve the user experience.
Nintendo Switch system firmware Ver. 23.5.0 update (Released 10 November, 2026)
- Added support for an upcoming feature to allow gifting of Nintendo eShop products to a Nintendo Account family group member.
- This gifting feature will be available after a Nintendo eShop update, scheduled for 17 November, 2026.
- General adjustments and fixes were made to improve the user experience.
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Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.