Nintendo reveals the new Virtual Game Card feature, an easier way to manage your digital Switch games

• Nintendo Virtual Game Card is a new Switch feature arriving in April
• Virtual Game Cards make it easier for players to lend out their digital games
• The feature will also be available on Switch 2 at launch

Nintendo has announced a new Switch feature called the Virtual Game Card, making it easier to lend out digital games.

Revealed during the March 27 Nintendo Direct Showcase, the new Virtual Game Card feature lets players easily manage their digital Nintendo Switch games, and it's arriving in late April as a new system update.

This feature will also make lending to Nintendo Account Family Group members straightforward.

When the update goes live, players will be able to see their digital Switch games as Virtual Game Cards. They can then be virtually loaded and ejected from their library, just like physical game cartridges.

Virtual Game Card – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 - YouTube

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Players can only lend out one game at a time on a Nintendo Account family group member’s console, and it will automatically be returned to the owner after 14 days; however, save data will be stored afterward.

"This optional feature allows you to view virtual game cards or eject them from your console," Nintendo said. "The digital game can also be lent to a Nintendo Account family group member’s console via local wireless connection."

Nintendo has also confirmed that this Virtual Game Card feature will be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch.

The announcements don't stop there. On April 2, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct Showcase will air and will likely reveal the pricing of the console, as well as showcase new software, like the new Mario Kart.

We are also expecting preorder details, although the latest leaks suggest that Switch 2 pre-orders will go live on the same day, April 2.

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