Nintendo Switch Update Adds eShop Gifting for Family Groups
Nintendo has updated its Switch and Switch 2 consoles to system software version 23.5.0, and the update adds a way to give digital games to other people. Players can gift Nintendo eShop purchases to members of a Nintendo Account family group, Eurogamer reported on 10 November 2026.
The feature is not switched on yet. It is scheduled to become available after an eShop update on 17 November 2026. The eShop is Nintendo's digital store, where games and extra content are bought and downloaded.
Gifting covers eligible games, along with downloadable content (DLC, extra material sold separately) and upgrade packs. Some eShop products will not be eligible for gifting at all.
There are limits. A family group can hold up to 8 members in total. Supervised Nintendo Accounts, the accounts a parent sets up and manages for a child, cannot send digital gifts. The number of gift purchases allowed in a given period is also capped.
The same update includes smaller changes. Players can now set accessibility options during first-time setup. Portuguese (Portugal) has been added to the text-to-speech languages, which read on-screen text aloud, and to GameChat's text-to-speech conversion. Nintendo's support page for Switch system updates describes other changes as adjustments and fixes made to improve the user experience.
For a household with several Nintendo Accounts, the family group is the link that makes gifting work. Gifts go to members of that group, and a supervised child account can receive a game but cannot send one. Anyone who wants to give a title will need to check that it is on the eligible list once the eShop update arrives.
