Switch 2 update 23.5.0 brings back eShop gifting, but only for family groups
Gifting switches on with an eShop update on November 17, child accounts cannot send gifts, and a dataminer says the firmware also patches October's jailbreak.
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Nintendo has released system update 23.5.0 for Switch 2 and the original Switch, and its main job is to prepare for digital gifting. From the eShop update scheduled for November 17, 2026, players can send eShop games, DLC and upgrade packs as gifts to members of their Nintendo Account family group. Nintendo of America dated the firmware November 9; Nintendo's Japanese support page lists November 10.
Gifting is limited to your family group, not your wider friend list, so check who is in yours before the holiday sales start.
What's confirmed
The gifting rules. Nintendo of America's announcement says you can gift eligible digital games, DLC and upgrade packs bought on the eShop to members of your family group, which can hold up to eight accounts. Some products may not be eligible. Supervised (child) accounts cannot send gifts, and the number of gifts you can buy in a given period is limited. Nintendo did not give the exact cap.
How it works. On a product page, tick "Give as a Gift", choose the recipient from your family group and pick which of their linked systems gets it. You can choose a gift wrap colour and then pay as usual. The gift is sent immediately and appears on the recipient's HOME Menu, where it can be accepted and played straight away.
The date. The patch notes, as reproduced by Nintendo Everything and on Nintendo's Japanese support page, say the feature switches on after an eShop update on November 17, 2026. Nintendo of America's post says November 16. That gap most likely comes down to time zones between the Americas and Asia; in Malaysia, expect November 17.
What else is in 23.5.0 on Switch 2. You can now set accessibility options during first-time setup. Portuguese (Portugal) joins the Text to Speech languages and the GameChat speech conversion languages. The rest is general fixes.
On the original Switch. Version 23.5.0 adds support for gifting plus general fixes. The accessibility changes apply to Switch 2 only.
The quiet part. Notebookcheck reports that, according to dataminer OatmealDome, 23.5.0 patches the operating-system flaw used by the software jailbreak that developer pepsipu showed off in October. Entry points in games such as SmileBASIC 4 and Civilization VII still exist, but on the new firmware they reportedly no longer let users escape the game's sandbox. Nintendo's notes do not mention this.
Background
This is the first sizeable Switch 2 firmware since 23.0.0. Nintendo's Japanese support page shows a 23.0.1 hotfix on October 1 that fixed slow game launches, suspends and exits introduced by 23.0.0.
Gifting is not new for Nintendo. Eurogamer points out that the Wii Shop Channel let players send WiiWare and Virtual Console games to anyone on their Wii friend list, a far broader system than this one. That option disappeared when the Wii Shop Channel closed in 2019. The 3DS and Wii U eShops never offered anything like it.
My take: what it means for players
I am glad gifting is back, and I am a little baffled by how narrow it is. Steam has let you gift games to friends for well over a decade, and the Microsoft Store on Xbox has had digital gifting for years. Nintendo has gone back to a Wii-era feature and made it smaller: family only, capped and blocked for child accounts.
There is a reason for some of it. Limiting gifts to the family group makes fraud and stolen-card abuse harder, and blocking supervised accounts stops kids from spending a parent's balance on friends. As a parent-to-child tool before Christmas, it works. As a way to send a friend a copy of the latest Zelda, it does not, and that is what most adults wanted.
On the jailbreak side, my advice is simple. If you rely on homebrew, read the community's notes before updating. For everyone else, 23.5.0 is a routine install, and the gifting toggle will just appear later in the month.
What we don't know yet
- The gift cap. Nintendo says purchases are limited per period but has not said how many or how long the period is.
- Which products are excluded. Nintendo has not published a list of games or DLC that cannot be gifted.
- Regional rollout. The announcement comes from Nintendo of America and Japan. We have not confirmed the start time for Southeast Asian eShop regions.
- Friends beyond the family. There is no sign Nintendo will widen gifting to friend lists.
Quick facts
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Update | Switch 2 and Switch system version 23.5.0 |
| Released | November 9, 2026 (Americas); November 10 (Japan) |
| Gifting live | eShop update on November 17, 2026 (November 16 in the Americas) |
| Who can receive | Nintendo Account family group members, up to 8 accounts |
| Giftable | Eligible games, DLC and upgrade packs |
| Switch 2 extras | Accessibility setup on first boot, Portuguese (Portugal) text to speech |
FAQ
Can I gift Nintendo eShop games to a friend?
Only if they are in your Nintendo Account family group. Gifting to a general friend list is not supported.
When does eShop gifting start?
After an eShop update scheduled for November 17, 2026 (November 16 in the Americas). You need system version 23.5.0 or later.
Can children send gifts on the eShop?
No. Nintendo says supervised accounts cannot send digital gifts.
Does update 23.5.0 block the Switch 2 jailbreak?
Notebookcheck, citing dataminer OatmealDome, reports it patches the flaw used by October's software jailbreak. Nintendo's notes do not mention it.
More: Nintendo says it has no plans for another Switch 2 price hike.
Sources: Nintendo (Nintendo of America gifting announcement; Nintendo Japan support patch notes); Eurogamer; Nintendo Everything; Notebookcheck. Image: Eurogamer feed image.
