Nintendo Switch owners with the console’s latest system update have noted that it is no longer possible to play the same digital game online across two systems simultaneously.
Previously, a Switch designated as a primary console could load up a digital game and play online alongside the owner of that game logged in via a second Switch.
Now, this “loophole” has been closed, due to the introduction of Nintendo’s new Virtual Game Cards system which treats digital games as if they were physical cartridges.
Users can still play a single copy of a digital game while playing offline, however. This is possible if you turn on a new Online Licenses option (buried in your Profile’s user settings), which lets you play a digital game even if you don’t have the Virtual Game Card – as long as it’s not being played elsewhere or, crucially, as long as it is being played elsewhere but on a Switch that is set offline.