Rumor: Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack could launch later tonight

What you need to know

• Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service offering cloud saves, online gaming, and access to retro games.
• The upcoming Expansion Pack offers access to Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis titles.
• While no exact time of release was announced, maintenance of the service should finish around 9 p.m. EST.

After the unexpected announcement of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack's pricing during the October 2021 Animal Crossing Direct, the company went eerily quiet about everything. Despite having announced the release date as being October 25 in a tweet, looking at the official website won't tell you anything other than "Coming Soon".

The price of Nintendo's online service increased from $20 per year to $50 per year for individual customers. Family Plan subscriptions, which can accommodate up to eight people, went up from $35 per year to a whopping $80 per year. In exchange, Expansion Pack subscribers receive access to nine Nintendo 64 games, 14 Sega Genesis games, and the Happy Home Paradise DLC which requires a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons to access.

While we got a date of release, Nintendo hasn't mentioned anything about what time we can expect to access our Nintendo 64 titles. They also haven't mentioned how the reduced price will be calculated for members who already have an active subscription to the base Nintendo Switch Online model.

Twitter user @OatmealDome runs the @NinStatusBot, a bot-powered Twitter account that tweets every time scheduled maintenance is announced for Nintendo Switch system applications or games. According to the latest maintenance announcement for the Nintendo eShop, the service should go down at around 8 p.m. EST, with maintenance on the Nintendo Switch Online app starting one hour before that. The maintenance should generally last for around one hour, meaning that everything should be finished by 9 p.m. EST.

We assume this means that we'll finally get access to some of the great exclusive games in the Expansion Pack around that time. European subscribers will have to wait until October 26 to access their games. As for how reduced pricing is being calculated, it may just show up for everyone individually.