Virtual Boy is Coming to the Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 On February 17

Nintendo Switch Online members on the original Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 will be able to access Virtual Boy titles via a new Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics app starting on February 17, 2026.

This news comes to us a few months after Nintendo teased the upcoming release of Virtual Boy games. The Virtual Boy was the first-ever video game console capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D graphics, which was marketed as a form of virtual reality. Arriving in 1995, it was a dumpster fire of a product, only selling 770,000 units, making it a commercial failure, underselling even the Wii U which only sold 13.6 million units.

The console has a monochromatic red image output, and creates illusion of depth via parallax, which was not great for longer play sessions so it will be interesting to see what this fresh release of games will be like. Considering that screens today are capable of much more than a 384x224 LED pixel layout (one per eye for record's sake), that alone should make things more crisp and hopefully a bit more comfortable on the eyes, even if the games do look like they belong on the Game Boy.

In total, 7 titles will be available at the launch, with more coming in the future, and we will also see two pieces of "hardware" available to support playing Virtual Boy games.

What is Playable on Virtual Boy?

Of the 22 commercially released games, 7 are being put onto the Switch's Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics app. In addition, 2 previously unreleased titles are also going to be available on the system.

• Teleroboxer™
• Galactic Pinball™
• RED ALARM
• GOLF
• Virtual Boy™ Wario Land™
• 3-D TETRIS®
• The Mansion of Innsmouth

It has been announced that 9 additional titles will be available in 2026, which includes the 2 previously unreleased titles, giving us a total of 16 Virtual Boy titles by the end of 2026.

Virtual Boy Hardware?

Yes! Two pieces of "hardware" are available to play Virtual Boy games. The first one is a made out of plastic which will retail for $99.99 USD directly from Nintendo and only available to purchase if you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. You insert your Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 into the unit to play games.

There are going to be different color inserts available, with more details to come at a future date.

The second piece of hardware, if you can even call it that, is a more budget-friendly option to enjoy the Virtual Boy. This may be more budget-friendly, but the ergonomics don't appear to be that great. Made out of cardboard, instead of resting on a stand on your table like the original Virtual Boy and the clone of it above, this will require that you hold your Switch up to your face and do so with your Joy-Cons attached to it.

We haven't had an opportunity to try this, but the thought of holding your Switch up to your face with your hands at the side of front of your hand sounds good for all of maybe five minutes; Especially if you have the heavier Switch 2. We can't deny having a more affordable option is a good thing, but we feel that this could have been better on the ergonomics side.

Either piece of the hardware is required to play Virtual Boy games on your Nintendo Switch, so whether it's the premium $99.99 USD option or the cardboard $24.99 USD one, you will need to make a purchase in addition to having the Nintendo Switch Online membership to play. Overall though, this sounds like fun and it's nice to see some gaming history become more accessible.