Tuesday, 10 November 2026

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Nintendo Adds Gift Feature to Switch 2 and Switch via Update 23.5.0

Nintendo began distributing system version 23.5.0 for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch on November 10, 2026, adding a feature that lets users send Nintendo eShop products to members of their family group.

5 sources 6h ago

Reporting from 5 sources: 4Gamer.net, GAME Watch (Impress), ASCII.jp, Denfaminicogamer, and 1 more.

Why it matters

The gift arrives as a wrapped icon on the recipient's HOME Menu rather than as a code, which moves eShop gifting into the console's own account system and out of the download-number workaround.

Nintendo Adds Gift Feature to Switch 2 and Switch via Update 23.5.0

Key Facts

  • Nintendo began distributing system version 23.5.0 for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch on November 10, 2026.
  • The Gift feature becomes usable after the Nintendo eShop update scheduled for November 17, 2026.
  • Gifts can only be sent to family members participating in the sender's family group, and cannot be sent from a child's account.
  • Recipients open a gifted product from a wrapping icon on the HOME Menu without entering payment information or a download code.
  • System version 23.5.0 also adds Portuguese to Switch 2 text-to-speech and allows Accessibility Settings during initial setup on Switch 2.

The feature itself goes live after an eShop-side update on November 17, 2026. A sender picks a product in the eShop, selects the recipient's Nintendo Account, and applies present-box wrapping. The gift then arrives on the recipient's HOME Menu, and the recipient opens it without entering payment information or a download code. Nintendo suggests the feature for games a parent wants a child to play, or for birthdays and holidays. Some products are not eligible, gifts cannot be sent from a child's account, and there is a cap on how many times gifts can be used within a set period. The same update also lets Switch 2 owners set Accessibility Settings during initial setup and adds Portuguese to text-to-speech.

The update first went out on November 10, 2026, with the Gift function itself held back until the eShop update on November 17. Until then the toggle is present but inert. GAME Watch ties the timing to the Christmas shopping season.

Word spread fast on social media after Nintendo's post. ASCII.jp collected replies including "This is pretty great!" and "I've wanted this feature for a long time." One user framed it as a return: "The Wii Shopping Channel gift feature is back, woohoo!!"

The mechanics have caveats. Nintendo lists three: some products are not eligible, child accounts cannot send gifts, and purchases hit an upper limit on how many times the feature can be used within a set period. Denfaminicogamer points readers to the official site for the full conditions.

The rest of 23.5.0 is smaller. On Switch 2, Accessibility Settings can be configured during initial setup, and text-to-speech gains Portuguese. Both consoles also get a batch of bug fixes, which Nintendo describes as improved operational stability.

Written with AI by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.

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