Important takeaways
- The NES version of Tetris is coming to Nintendo Switch Online on December 12, just weeks after its 35th anniversary.
- Historical trends suggest that Nintendo Switch Online may add at least one more game in December 2024.
Nintendo Switch Online adds the NES version of the Tetris on December 12. This inclusion will further strengthen the ever-growing selection of classic titles that Nintendo Switch Online has to offer.
Unlike PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo's subscription service does not have a fixed schedule for new releases. But it usually introduces new titles every few months, with such additions being more around special events like anniversaries. The first two at the latest Donkey Kong Land games made their way to Nintendo Switch Online in late November 2024, followed by Mercs, Vectorman ToeJam and Earl in Panic at the Funkotronwhich was added to the Expansion Pack-tier library.

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The NES edition of the Tetris will now follow suit next week, with Nintendo just announcing that the classic game will be added to NSO's content catalog on December 12th. This arrival may not come as a surprise to the most attentive fans, because Tetris was already confirmed to come to Nintendo Switch Online in late August 2024. Although NSO usually adds multiple titles to its library at once, the NES version of Tetris will seemingly be an exception to this pattern, debuting on its own — unless Nintendo has some last-minute surprises, which isn't out of the question.
Tetris for NES has just turned 35 years old
Tetris will hit the Nintendo Switch Online library shortly after the 35th anniversary of its North American release. As is the case with all NES titles, this upcoming add-on will be available at all levels of Nintendo's subscription service. The game itself won't be the first version of the beloved classic to make its way to NSO, as the Game Boy version of Tetris has already been available to Nintendo subscribers since February 2023.
More NSO games may come in December 2024
Based on Nintendo's release pattern, it's possible the NES version of Tetris will not be the last addition to the NSO library in 2024. Since its launch in 2018, NSO has consistently added several titles to its catalog each December. Even in 2023, the least eventful year, the service still received two new titles in December: 1080° snowboarding and Harvest Moon 64.
Number of Nintendo Switch Online games added every December
Year |
Games added |
---|---|
2018 |
6 |
2019 |
8 |
2020 |
8 |
2021 |
6 |
2022 |
4 |
2023 |
2 |
2024 |
1? |
So 2024 will either mark a new low for December NSO releases, or see Nintendo introduce at least one more surprise title alongside the NES version of Tetris. Looking at the slightly bigger picture, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently confirmed that the Switch 2 will support Nintendo Switch Online. Tetris is therefore all but guaranteed to be playable on the company's upcoming device — unless its NSO stint turns out to be unusually short-lived.