Nintendo
has
updated
the
official
website
for
its
mysterious
“Switch
Online:
Playtest
Program”
today,
privately
revealing
more
information
to
participants
about
what
it
entails.
The
playtest
is
running
from
October
23rd,
9PM
ET
until
November
5th,
8PM
ET,
and
is
only
available
to
the
roughly
10,000
people
who
have
already
registered
for
the
program.
The
test
software
is
now
available
to
download
ahead
of
the
start
of
gameplay,
and
requires
2.2GB
of
free
space.
Participants
didn’t
sign
an
NDA,
but
Nintendo
requested
in
the
playtest
terms
and
conditions
that
users
refrain
from
sharing
any
details
about
it
—
which
has
gone
about
as
well
as
can
be
expected.
While
Nintendo
has
already
started
issuing
copyright
strikes
to
take
leaked
media
offline,
screenshots
and
information
about
the
playtest
are
still
available
across
websites
like
X
and
Reddit
at
the
time
of
writing.
This
appears
to
be
Nintendo’s
attempt
to
develop
its
first
MMO
(massively
multiplayer
online)
style
game.
According
to
the
game
description,
“the
goal
is
to
work
with
others
to
fully
‘develop’
a
massive,
expansive
planet
by
utilizing
creativity
and
framed
resources.”
Players
will
encounter
“new
lands,
enemies,
and
resources”
as
they
progress,
and
utilize
“Beacons”
that
create
zones
to
develop
the
environment
around
where
they’re
placed.
These
Beacon
zones
are
personal
—
players
can
only
“move,
lift,
or
edit
items”
in
zones
they
have
placed,
and
cannot
edit
anything
within
someone
else’s
Beacon.
There’s
a
separate
social
hub
called
the
“Dev
Core”
where
players
can
level
up,
obtain
items,
and
interact
with
each
other.
Nintendo
also
describes
“UGC
(User-Generated
Content)
features”
for
creating
and
sharing
custom
content,
but
players
are
required
to
pass
an
in-game
test
“to
show
that
you
understand
the
importance
of
respectful
communication”
before
this
capability
can
be
unlocked.
At
a
glance,
the
game
shares
some
similarities
with
family-friendly
MMO’s
like
Minecraft
and
Roblox.
The
IP
is
either
entirely
new
(in
that
it
doesn’t
feature
any
recognizable
Nintendo
characters)
or
it’s
a
placeholder
for
the
game
system
itself
—
meaning
it
could
be
part
of
an
existing
franchise
at
release.
All
we
know
for
sure
is
that
previous
speculation
suggesting
the
playtest
would
bring
GameCube
titles
to
the
Nintendo
Switch
Online
service
can
probably
be
put
to
rest.
(Originally posted by Jess Weatherbed)
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