Nintendo Switch Online launching on September 18

Nintendo announced today that its Switch Online service will launch on September 18. For $20 a year, it will give Switch owners access to online play, cloud backup saves for most games, and classic Nintendo Entertainment System games. A free seven-day trial will be available to all Switch owners

Nintendo Switch Online is odd for many reasons. Switch released in March 2017, but this subscription service took well over a year longer to be ready for launch. In the meantime, people played online games like Splatoon 2 for free. Nintendo also ties components of its online service, including voice chat, to a smartphone app. So if you want to talk to your friends while gaming online with your Switch, you need to launch an app on a separate platform.