According to a tweet from NinStatusBot, Nintendo might be preparing to launch new SEGA Genesis games today, April 21. The Twitter account is known for tracking Nintendo maintenance windows. Today’s tweet reported that the Nintendo Switch company has scheduled maintenance tonight April 22, from 00:55 to 02:00 UTC and it is titled “SEGA Genesis.”
Nintendo customarily takes down its retro game subscription service when adding new titles which is why this “maintenance” seems significant. The company could be planning to add the update overnight and announce new SEGA Genesis titles first thing tomorrow. Just last month, both the NES and SNES apps went down and the result was new games for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. February’s maintenance also resulted in the addition of Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings.
The Nintendo Switch Online SEGA Genesis app last went down for maintenance on March 17 when three new titles were added to the service: Alien Soldier, Light Crusader, and Super Fantasy Zone. Previously, maintenance took place on December 16, 2021, when subscribers were granted five new games consisting of ToeJam & Earl, Altered Beast, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermillion, and Thunder Force II.
If the past is anything to go by, it seems very possible that Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion members could be getting more SEGA Genesis games in a matter of hours. Of course, nothing is confirmed so players shouldn’t get their hopes up too high until the news is officially announced. There have been a few occasions when the NES and SNES apps have been taken down for maintenance and haven’t resulted in new games.
Nintendo’s current expansion pack consists of SEGA Genesis and Nintendo 64 games, in addition to the NES and SNES libraries already included in the basic subscription. The company has been pretty consistent recently about adding new titles to the service, much to the delite of its members.