Switch 2 system update 23.5.0 is the reason your console will be able to send and receive Nintendo eShop gifts, and the feature itself still needs a separate eShop update, due November 16 or 17, before it goes live. Nintendo released version 23.5.0 for both Switch 2 and the original Switch on November 9. It lays the groundwork for gifting games, DLC and upgrade packs to people in your Nintendo Account family group, then waits for that eShop-side update to flip the switch.
Family Group Only, Up to Eight People
Gifting isn’t open to your whole friends list. Nintendo’s November 9 announcement limits it to members of your family group, which tops out at eight accounts. Anyone with a Nintendo Account can set one up.
Nintendo lists three limits up front:
- Some products won’t be eligible for gifting.
- Supervised accounts, the ones a parent manages for a child, can’t send gifts. Nintendo pitches the feature as a way for parents to send games to their kids, so receiving is the point for those accounts.
- There’s a cap on how many gifts you can buy in a set period. Nintendo hasn’t published the number.
Eligible items cover games, DLC and upgrade packs. That last one matters on Switch 2, where a lot of the season’s buys are paid Switch 2 Edition upgrades, like the $9.99 pack for Pikmin 4.
A Checkbox, a Recipient and Eight Wrap Colors
Sending a gift works from the eShop on your own system. Open a game’s page, tick the new Give as a Gift box, pick the family member, then pick which of their linked systems should get it. You choose a wrap color (Nintendo’s screens show eight, from red to pink) and pay as normal.
The gift shows up on the recipient’s HOME Menu right away. They select it, accept it and can start playing. There’s no delivery scheduling in what Nintendo has shown, so a gift bought on December 20 lands on December 20. If it’s for a birthday morning, buy it that morning.
November 16 or November 17
Nintendo of America’s November 9 news post says gifting arrives on November 16. The official 23.5.0 patch notes for Switch 2 and Switch say it goes live after an eShop update scheduled for November 17, 2026, and Nintendo’s Japanese announcement uses the same November 17 date. A Japan-calendar November 17 could fall on November 16 in US time zones, depending on the hour, but Nintendo hasn’t published a go-live time. Either way, your system needs 23.5.0 or later first. It should download on its own if the console is online, or you can start it from System Settings.
The Rest of Switch 2 System Update 23.5.0
The Switch 2 update has a few smaller changes. You can now set up accessibility options during first-time setup, which helps anyone who needs Text to Speech or other settings before they ever reach the HOME Menu. Portuguese (Portugal) joins the Text to Speech languages and GameChat’s Convert Text to Speech option. Nintendo’s notes round it out with general adjustments and fixes. The original Switch’s 23.5.0 adds the gifting support and the same general fixes.
Unlike the 23.0.1 fix for slow starts and closes, this one is about a feature, and the timing is the point. Gifting goes live a few days before Nintendo’s eShop holiday sale opens on November 19, which makes buying a discounted game for a kid’s console a two-minute job instead of a hand-me-your-phone moment.