Is It Still Worth Buying a Nintendo Switch Game Voucher Before They’re Gone?
Pour one out.
At the end of the month, Nintendo will stop selling Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers, which it has offered since 2019. For those who haven’t been following along, these vouchers allowed Nintendo Switch Online subscribers to buy a voucher that could be redeemed for two Nintendo Switch games at a discounted rate.
Here in Australia, the voucher cost $134.95AUD, and with most Switch games priced at $79.95AUD, you saved quite a bit if you bought a lot of digital games. There was also the added benefit of Gold Points being applied, shaving off a few more dollars, and if you managed to buy your eShop credit at a discount, you could get new release games for significant savings. It’s been a great system.
All of that is officially coming to an end. With the Switch 2 now here, the program also isn’t continuing onto that system. Nintendo has said it will add more games to the program in 2026, which will probably include Rhythm Heaven Groove and Tomodachi Life Living the Dream, but for all intents and purposes, the current lineup is likely it.
So should you rush out and buy a voucher before the end of the month? If there’s anything on the list you’ve been holding out on buying, especially games priced higher than $79.95, then probably yes. However, we wouldn’t recommend buying one if you’re hoping something new will be added to the list in the future. Nintendo isn’t completely done with Switch releases, but it would be a gamble to buy a voucher based on hope.
What is worth picking up are games that barely ever go on sale. Some titles on the list do receive discounts during major holiday sales, but others won’t for a long time, or haven’t at all.
Something like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has never been on sale digitally. The Famicom Detective Club combo pack is also $90 and would be a solid pick. Titles like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond won’t go on sale digitally for a long time, nor will something like Pokémon Legends Z-A. You’ll also still be able to upgrade them for the Nintendo Switch 2 down the line.
Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers have been a terrific system for a long time, and I know I’ve bought more digital games because of them. Being able to get a game day one, digitally, for cheaper than even big box retailers could manage with physical copies has been fantastic.
We hope Nintendo has something new to replace it soon, but we doubt it’ll be anywhere near as generous as this program has been.
Something I’ve been conscious of and people might want to consider, is that when Nintendo games go on sale it’s generally a 25-33% discount. With the majority of titles being $79AUD, that puts the discounted price at about $52-%59 AUD, which is bellow half the cost of a Switch store voucher. So I’d buy vouchers if you have games you want to play short term, but if its to build up a backlog of titles, it’s possibly worth waiting for a sale unless its a release that seemingly never gets discounted.