Some Nintendo Switch games won’t support cloud saves

Several Nintendo Switch games — including some big names — will not support cloud save backups when the Nintendo Switch Online service launches, the company confirmed to Game Informer yesterday. The reason why probably won’t make anyone feel better either.

In a statement to Game Informer, Nintendo said that with backup saves stored in the cloud, users would be able to revert to a higher online multiplayer ranking, or get back items that they’d already traded to another player.

Notable games that won’t support cloud saves include Splatoon 2 and Pokémon Let’s Go Evee and Pikachu. There’s also fine print for third-party titles like NBA 2K19, FIFA 19, Dead Cells and Dark Souls Remastered. All of these games support cloud saves on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.

Nintendo Switch Online is expected to launch this month. A Nintendo Direct planned for Thursday evening was postponed in light of a deadly earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan earlier that day. It’s believed that Nintendo would have announced the final details for Nintendo Switch Online in this showcase, including the launch date.

Instead, some indicators of what the service will and won’t do seem to have slipped out via assets that weren’t pulled back after the Direct’s postponement.

Nintendo’s official page for Nintendo Switch Online notes only that “Details about this feature will be available before the paid service launches in September.” At any rate, access to the online service to back up saves requires a subscription. Those will be offered at $3.99 a month, $7.99 for three months, and $19.99 for a year. There’s also a $34.99 annual family plan supporting up to eight accounts.