Nintendo recently announced that the Virtual Boy will be added to the growing library of classic games available through Nintendo Switch Online. This service, which started over six years ago as a way to play games online and save data in the cloud, has become a popular destination for retro gaming fans. Subscribers already have access to titles from consoles like the NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and GameCube—including favorites such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Now, with the addition of the Virtual Boy, the service is expanding its collection even further, and will include two games never before released.
Nintendo’s Virtual Boy was advertised as the first virtual reality gaming headset, but it actually worked more like a 3D screen viewed from above. Players had to lean their head down to look through the device, which sat on a stand, and all games were displayed in a strange, unsettling red color. Sadly, the Virtual Boy wasn’t a success, selling less than 800,000 units and becoming known as one of Nintendo’s biggest flops. Despite this, it did have some fun games like Mario’s Tennis and Wario Land. Now that Nintendo is bringing back classic consoles through its Nintendo Switch Online service, it’s likely the Virtual Boy will be next.
Virtual Boy Games Coming to Switch Online
- 3-D Tetris
- Galactic Pinball
- Golf
- The Mansion of Innsmouth
- Red Alarm
- Teleroboxer
- Virtual Boy Wario Land
Nintendo is bringing its Virtual Boy library to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack members starting February 17, 2026, with the classic game 3-D Tetris available right away. In addition, two previously unreleased games, ZERO RACERS and D-HOPPER, are also planned for release in 2026, along with seven other titles. Following the pattern of surprise game additions for other classic consoles like the SNES, we can expect more Virtual Boy games to be added unexpectedly in the future.
The most exciting part of this announcement is the discovery of previously unreleased games. Notably, the popular racing series F-Zero is getting a spin-off title. While it’s not the full-fledged F-Zero game fans might have hoped for on the Switch 2, it will offer some racing action. This spin-off was surprisingly complete when revealed at E3 1996, but was never released due to the failure of the console it was made for. Now, players can finally experience this lost game through a Virtual Boy emulator. The other game, D-HOPPER, is a new top-down adventure title also shown at E3 1996, designed specifically for the Virtual Boy.
With a new Nintendo Switch Online trial planned for 2026 and exciting things coming for the Virtual Boy, now is a great time to subscribe. Keep in mind the trial is for the standard membership, and the Virtual Boy content is part of the Expansion Pack. However, the trial is still a fantastic way to test out the service and decide if it’s right for you. The addition of the Virtual Boy, along with planned features like customizable screen colors, shows Nintendo is steadily improving the quality of its online service with a thoughtful approach.
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2026-01-27 21:34