Nintendo is discontinuing its Gold Points rewards program for digital purchases starting March 24, 2024, at 9:30 PM PDT. I remember when Nintendo launched this program in 2018. It let players earn points for buying Switch games, both digital and physical, which they could use to save money on future game purchases.
Changes for Digital Purchases
After the March deadline, you won’t earn Gold Points for digital games bought on the Nintendo eShop. But if you pre-ordered a game before the cutoff, you’ll still get your points once the purchase goes through.
Physical Game Purchases
The rules are different for physical games. If a game was released on or before March 24, you can still earn Gold Points after the deadline, but only if you buy it within a year of its release. Any physical game released after March 24, 2025, won’t earn Gold Points at all. Also, keep in mind that physical games have always given fewer points than digital ones.
If you shop at the Nintendo New York store, you can still earn Gold Points until March 24. The same rules for physical game purchases apply.
This change to the rewards program comes as rumors about the Switch 2 are growing. Nintendo has a Direct presentation on April 2, where they might share details about the new console and possibly a new rewards program.
