Nintendo enthusiasts, here’s a heads up: as of March 25, you won’t be able to earn any more Gold Points through the My Nintendo rewards program. These points have been a neat currency option for trading in for games on the Switch eShop. While both physical and digital game buyers have been racking up these points, digital purchases tend to offer a bit more.
The Gold Points initiative has enjoyed significant popularity over the years. It has offered players an enjoyable perk, allowing them to score free games by collecting enough points. But, in a recent announcement, Nintendo revealed that they’re rolling back this feature after March 25.
Recently, Nintendo took to Twitter via its Japanese customer service handle to remind its community about this change, specifying that the cutoff will be at 12:30 am ET on March 25. Rest assured, any points you’ve already accrued will still be usable until they naturally expire. If you’ve purchased eligible Switch games but haven’t yet claimed your Gold Points, there’s no time like the present to ensure you do so before the deadline.
Why is this change happening? Well, Nintendo hasn’t been very forthcoming with reasons. However, the timing is intriguing. Just over a week after the Gold Points disappear, there will be a Nintendo Direct focused on the anticipated Switch 2, slated for a summer launch. It seems the new console will make its debut without the Gold Points program in place.
This transition might be timely as a new console generation often means new systems and offers. Although this means a goodbye to Gold Points for now, fans can hold out hope for a replacement or upgrade in the future. Until then, it’s best to enjoy the benefits while you can — consider it the end of an era with the start of a new one on the horizon.
