Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Games Will Lose Their Online Services in April 2024

Nintendo announced this morning that it will soon pull the plug for online services for two of its previous consoles, the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS. In early April 2024, games on these platforms will lose their online features, including online multiplayer and rankings.

Nintendo said that it will announce a precise date later, but added that “if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software, we may have to discontinue services earlier than planned.”

As of early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Thank you very much for your continued support of our products.

Find out more: https://t.co/nOyzBImHCE

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 4, 2023

The Japanese company also emphasized that any digital Wii U and 3DS games that you previously purchased will still be available to download from the Nintendo eShop. Moreover, players will still be able to play game modes that do not require online communication after support for online services ends next year.

Nintendo stopped manufacturing the Wii U in January 2017, two months before the release of the Nintendo Switch. While the Wii U was considered a major failure with only 13.56 million units sold, the 3DS, which was a portable console, was much more popular with almost 76 million units sold. The 3DS, which saw several hardware revisions since its release in 2011, was also discontinued in September 2020.

While Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, is still selling very well thanks to blockbuster exclusive games like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the portable console may finally get a successor next year. Nintendo reportedly started showing the “Switch 2” to developers at the recent gamescom conference in August, though details about its hardware are still unknown.