Nintendo has announced a major change for the Switch console in China: The eShop and Nintendo Switch Online services will close in early 2026. The move comes amid the Chinese government's implementation of a rule limiting children to one hour of online game time per day.

Tencent Nintendo Switch said on Tuesday that the Chinese eShop and other online services for the Nintendo Switch will gradually cease operations starting in 2026. According to the statement, the Chinese eShop will stop selling or offering paid and free games and software on March 31,

I've been tracking Black Friday offers for five years now, and I've never seen Nintendo Switch deals like this. First up, I certainly wasn't expecting to see console bundles dropping their prices again and games have taken me by surprise as well. This isn't my first rodeo, and I've developed quite the eye for a blockbuster discount over the years.

Nintendo Switch is halting its eShop operations and other online services in China in the upcoming year. In 2019, Tencent partnered with Nintendo to start selling Switch consoles in China. According to the official announcement on Nintendo’s website on Tuesday,

Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOF) plans to shut down its online services for the Switch console in China from 2026, according to a post on a WeChat account operated by its game publishing partner Tencent. The post said Nintendo’s e-store will suspend sales of games and software from March 31,

Nintendo has announced that it's closing the Switch eShop, as well as all network services for the console, in 2026, but only in China.