Nintendo made a vague announcement earlier in October inviting people to sign up for a Nintendo Switch Online playtest; around 10,000 people were admitted into the test program earlier this month. Nintendo shared very few details about the mystery event, except that a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership was necessary to participate. Ahead of the event beginning on Oct. 21, Nintendo published a website for participating users detailing the event — and it appears to be some some of massively multiplayer online experience.
Almost immediately, the contents of the website leaked online. Nintendo appears to be using DMCA notices in response to some of the leaked information on social media.
“With the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program, we aim to test the boundaries of mass multiplayer functionality and gameplay on our servers,” Nintendo wrote on the website, according to a user’s screen recording of it.
The leaks depict Nintendo describing the game as being about working with other players to “develop” a planet by farming resources and being creative. “As you progress across the planet, you’ll discover new lands, enemies, and resources that will become essential to your journey,” Nintendo wrote, according to the leaked materials. The leaks say players will be “beacons” that emit a “healing light” to develop the land. The beacons are described as basically a claimant over a piece of the planet, where a player is reportedly able to “move, lift, or edit items” within the highlighted area. Players are only able to edit a space that’s there. “Places outside of Beacon Zones are public areas that anyone can work in,” the leaks say. “In public areas anyone can pick up things, place them, and edit them.”
Then you can work on an area. Beyond that, there’s also an area called the Dev Core, which is essentially a social hub.
Another big part of it seems to be user-generated content; the leaked materials say players can “make all sorts of different UGC in-game” after taking a test to show they “understand the importance of respectful communication.”
The game looks a lot like the UGC platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, where people can create and develop their own games within the larger system. Nintendo hasn’t said when players can expect the game to open up to a wider audience.
