Fortnite players don’t need to purchase a Nintendo Switch Online membership.
This week sees the long-awaited release of Nintendo Switch Online, the new subscription service for the Switch.
Although you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to access online multiplayer in all first-party Switch games – such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and the upcoming Super Smash Bros Ultimate – some titles, including Fortnite, are exempt.
In a post on the Nintendo customer support website, the company states:
“Some games, such as Fortnite, can be played online without a Nintendo Switch membership.”
The post doesn’t go into much more detail, so we have to assume that free-to-play games – or at least those deemed important enough – are excluded from requiring a Switch Online membership.
This means that Paladins, and the upcoming Warframe, will be perfectly playable without a subscription. However, the recently updated Minecraft, will require a membership.
Although the disparity could be confusing for some users, it does at least match how free-to-play games work on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Small mercies and all that.
Membership to Nintendo Switch Online also gives users access to an initial batch of 20 updated NES games, cloud saves for selected titles, and various special offers.
