Further Evidence Points To Switch Not Requiring A Sub For F2P Games

It's looking more and more likely that you won't need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to play free-to-play games on the handheld console. We speculated about that last week, based on missing language in the terms of service for various free-to-play games. Now we're seeing more circumstantial evidence of this approach.

The FAQ for Nintendo Switch Online has been posted, and the second and third questions seem to support our earlier theories:

Q: Which games require a Nintendo Switch Online membership to access online play?

A: Nintendo Switch games such as Splatoon™ 2, ARMS™, Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis™ Aces, and Sushi Striker™: The Way of Sushido, will require a Nintendo Switch Online membership, but other games will vary.

Q: How can I tell if a game requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership for online play?

A: We will share information on this topic at a later date.

So there will definitely be some online games that require a subscription and some that don't when the service starts up in September. What difference could there be between the needs and the need-nots? Free-to-play is as good a guess as any, which would come as welcome news to Fortnite and Warframe players.