All Nintendo Switch owners do get a free game after all, of sorts

One of the biggest issues highlighted about the Nintendo Switch so far is that it comes without an included game. And with games costing up to £60 a pop, it adds a considerable fee on top of the existing £280 cover price.

Both the Wii U and Wii came with packaged games, Nintendo Land and Wii Sports respectively, and many thought the same would be the case with the Switch. Sadly, that’s not to be. Not from day one anyway.

Never fear though. If you’ve blown your budget on the console itself and have to save up to buy a full title, there will still be something playable on the device in the meantime. Nintendo is releasing a free “preview” of Splatoon 2 that will be available to play online for three days at the end of March.

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Free open betas is not a new thing in gaming, with online multiplayer games often offering testing phases for PS4, Xbox One and PC, but it’s a first for Nintendo. It also marks a new dawn for online gaming for the company, with a more open ecosystem rather than the walled garden approach adopted in the past.

Splatoon 2 and the preview build can also be played over a LAN network on up to 10 docked Switch consoles, with eight playing and two onlookers in a new Private Battle Spectator mode. It allows for professional style local tournaments.

Eight player matches can be played wirelessly too.

You can download and play the Splatoon 2 preview build from 24 to 25 March. Sessions will run in one hour intervals at the following times:

Friday 24 March

• From 7pm GMT

Saturday 25 March

• From 4am GMT
• From 12pm GMT
• From 8pm GMT

Sunday 26 March

• From 5am BST
• From 1pm BST