Nintendo Fans Can No Longer Earn Gold Points

The dreaded March 25 date has arrived for Nintendo fans, as users can no longer earn Gold Points from digital purchases made on the Switch eShop as of 12:30 AM Eastern. However, Nintendo fans who purchase physical copies of Switch games released before March 24, including Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, may still earn Gold Points.

The March 25 deadline for Nintendo Gold Points was made months in advance, as Nintendo posted announcements on social media in the weeks leading up to the program’s cancelation. Gold Points were earned via Nintendo eShop game purchases on Switch consoles at a rate that depended on the games purchased. Points were also gained via physical Nintendo Switch game cards at a lower rate. Each Gold Point equaled one US cent on the eShop and could be used in place of real money to make game purchases or lower the price of some games. However, Gold Points were limited in their use as they could only be spent on the eShop.

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Nonetheless, the sad day that Nintendo players have feared has finally arrived. As of 12:30 AM Eastern on March 25, Nintendo Gold Points can no longer be obtained via digital game purchases on the eShop. However, according to Nintendo’s Customer Support article, Gold Points that are still unspent will remain valid until they expire 12 months after they were initially earned. Additionally, Gold Points may still be earned via physical Nintendo Switch games, but the catch is that the game must have been released within the last year.

Nintendo’s Gold Points Program Has Mostly Concluded

• As of March 25, 2025, Nintendo users cannot earn Gold Points via eShop purchases.
• Gold Points may still be earned via physical game copies that were released within a year.
• The remaining Gold Points will stay in players’ accounts until they expire one year after their initial earnings.
• The retirement of Gold Points does not affect Platinum Points.

Ergo, games like Pokemon Legends: Z-A are not eligible for Gold Points, but titles such as Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door may still yield points via physical copies. The change to Gold Points has no effect on Platinum Points, which can still be used for Nintendo Switch avatars and other cosmetics and earned by playing Nintendo Switch Online games.

The retirement of the Gold Points program came just months after Nintendo announced some bad news about another valuable program. In February, Nintendo confirmed that Switch Game Vouchers cannot be used to buy Switch 2 games at all. However, Switch Game Vouchers can still be used to purchase fully-priced Switch titles like Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Mario and Luigi: Brothership.

The end of Gold Points came just over one week before the highly anticipated April 2 Nintendo Direct. Though Nintendo has not yet made any further announcements regarding the Switch 2, only time will tell if it will offer similar programs to Gold Points.