Nintendo has made NBA 2K26 free to play for a full week on both the Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2, available exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

The Game Trial — a recurring promotion Nintendo runs for its paid subscription members — began on August 7, 2026 at 10am PT (1pm ET / 6pm BST) and runs until Thursday, August 13 at 11:59pm PT (August 14 at 2:59am ET / 7:59am BST), according to VGC. That gives players nearly seven full days with the entire game.

And it really is the entire game. Unlike a conventional demo that locks you to a single mode or a time limit per session, Nintendo's Game Trials contain the full package — every mode, every feature, including online multiplayer. The only restriction is the clock: once the trial window closes, the game will no longer boot. Players can then delete it or purchase it outright from the Nintendo eShop, and anyone who buys the full version after the trial keeps their save file and all progress intact.

The promotion covers both the original Switch and its successor, the Switch 2 — meaning subscribers on either console can participate. Nintendo announced the trial on its official "What's New" page and promoted it across the eShop product pages and its Facebook account.

NBA 2K26 is the 27th entry in a basketball simulation series that stretches back to 1999, when the first NBA 2K was published by Sega. Take-Two Interactive acquired developer Visual Concepts in January 2005 and folded it into its newly launched 2K label, which has published every entry since. The franchise has become one of the most consistently best-selling sports series in gaming, with annual releases timed to the start of each NBA season.

For Nintendo, Game Trials serve a straightforward purpose: they give subscribers a reason to keep paying for Switch Online — a service that costs US$19.99 per year for an individual membership on the original Switch. For Take-Two and 2K, the deal puts a full-priced sports title in front of players at no cost, with the bet that at least some will convert to paying customers once the week is up.

The timing lines up neatly with the NBA offseason, when basketball interest tends to spike around trades, free agency and draft coverage. Whether that translates to a surge of post-trial purchases is a question only the sales trackers will answer in the coming months.

For now, the court is open. Switch Online subscribers can download NBA 2K26 from the eShop and play the complete game — no limits, no caveats — through August 13.