It has been announced that all of Nintendo’s online services as well as the eShop are going to be closed down in China by May 15th, 2026. This means that players won’t be able to purchase new games or content and they also won’t be able to download any older content. Other online services like online co-op or competitive play also won’t be available.
As first reported by VGC, the eShop will be closing on March 31st, 2026. The online services will come to an end on May 15th, 2026. So players will not be able to download any content after that point.
It could be argued that this is a morally grey area. If a player has purchased that game or content. Should they not be able to download it regardless of the eShop being operational? Nintendo is seemingly under no obligation to keep the eShop open. However, if you’ve bought and paid for a product you should not be denied it. This could be an area where more stringent consumer protections are required. Especially given Nintendo’s objection to the emulation of games. So, if you miss the opportunity to download that content you can never play it again. Not only does that hurt game preservation efforts it also hurts players.
Consumer rights are being taken for granted and things are unlikely to change if players don’t push back when closures like this happen. Fans should be entitled to their games if they’ve paid for them. This is one of the reasons why several fans choose to purchase physical copies of their games. To ensure they have some form of backup. However, the extra content or updates aren’t backed up as well.
If you’d like to read more on Nintendo’s war on emulation click here.
