Virtual Boy Comes To Switch 2 February 17th

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched with a new console available for Nintendo Switch Online members: the Nintendo GameCube.

It was a welcome addition to an ever-growing roster of classics on NSO, launching with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur II. If the rumors are true, that library will soon grow to include two more classic GameCube games in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Pikmin 2.

That's not the only console that's coming to Nintendo Switch Online for Nintendo Switch 2 owners, though. As announced during a 2025 Nintendo Direct, the Virtual Boy is coming, and according to Nintendo, it will officially launch on February 17th with the following seven games:

• Teleroboxer
• Galactic Pinball
• RED ALARM
• GOLF
• Virtual BoyWario Land
• 3-D TETRIS
• The Mansion of Innsmouth

The Virtual Boy Is A Fun Addition To Nintendo Switch Online That Also Includes Previously Unreleased Games

Nintendo also teased additional games that will eventually make their way to the Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch Online:

• Mario Clash
• Mario Tennis
• Jack Bros
• Space Invaders Virtual Collection
• Virtual Bowling
• Virtual Force
• V-Tetris
• Zero Racers
• D-HOPPER

Zero Racers and D-HOPPER are notable because they have never been released before. Combined with the Virtual Boy's gimmicky nature, it's a fun little add-on sure to pique our curiosity.

Let's not mince words here; the Virtual Boy is one of, if not the, worst consoles of all time. The gimmick was something that sounded super neat yet impractical in the 1990s: a chance to play your games with a virtual reality helmet, letting you be in the game like never before. The problem, though, was that the technology was nowhere near ready to make this work. As a result, the Virtual Boy was a disaster.

Of course, VR gaming is far more widely accepted today, but it's still arguably seen as a niche rather than a commonly accepted way to play games. Add in the fact that you'll be able to purchase a Virtual Boy headset from Nintendo, and you can party like it's 1994 all over again. That $99.99 price tag, though, is a little off-putting. Thankfully, you'll still be able to play the games without it, which, honestly, may be the preferred way to play.

In the worst case, it'll be a fun way to play games that were previously stuck on bad hardware. In the best case, it's a chance to discover some hidden gems that time forgot.