Nintendo made a vague announcement earlier in October inviting people to sign up for a Nintendo Switch Online playtest; About 10,000 people were accepted into the testing program earlier this month. Nintendo shared very few details about the mystery event, other than that a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership was necessary to participate. Ahead of the event starting on October 21, Nintendo published a website for participating users with details about the event – and it appears to be some sort of massive online multiplayer experience.
Almost immediately, the content of the website leaked online. Nintendo appears to be using DMCA notices in response to some of the leaked information on social media.
“With the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program, we want to test the limits of mass multiplayer functionality and gameplay on our servers,” Nintendo wrote on the website, according to a user’s screenshot.
The leaks reveal that Nintendo is describing the game as teaming up with other players to “develop” a planet by farming resources and being creative. “As you travel across the planet, you will discover new lands, enemies and resources that will become essential to your journey,” Nintendo wrote, according to the leaked material. According to the leaks, players will be ‘beacons’ radiating a ‘healing light’ to develop the country. The beacons are described as essentially being a claimant over a chunk of the planet, where a player is reportedly able to “move, lift, or manipulate objects” within the marked area. Players can only edit a space that is there. “Places outside Beacon Zones are public spaces where anyone can work,” the leaks say. “In public spaces, everyone can pick up, place and edit things.”
Then you can work on an area. In addition, there is also an area called the Dev Core, which is essentially a social center.
Another big part of it seems to be user-generated content; The leaked material shows that players will be able to “create all kinds of different UGC in-game” after taking a test to show they “understand the importance of respectful communication.”
The game is very similar to the UGC platforms Fortnite And Robloxwhere people can create and develop their own games within the larger system. Nintendo hasn’t said when players can expect the game to be available to a wider audience.