Skip to main content

Nintendo Switch Sports’ first free update adds more leg strap support

A free update coming to Nintendo Switch Sports will add a handful of new features on July 26.

Get a kick out of this! On 7/26, a free update for #NintendoSwitchSports adds new features, like the ability to use the Leg Strap accessory in Four-on-Four and One-on-One Soccer matches, new Volleyball moves, and more!https://t.co/sEl5QcPipM pic.twitter.com/8PQyhvWxft

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 22, 2022

The spiritual successor to Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports launched in 2022 with six sports: Soccer, Volleyball, Bowling, Tennis, Badminton, and Chambara. Each game utilized the console’s motion controls in various ways, but also took advantage of the online capabilities as well, allowing for online play. Golf has already been confirmed to be coming to the game, bringing the total sport count to seven, but not until sometime in fall of 2022.

Recommended Videos

The free update for Nintendo Switch Sports will roll out on July 26 at 6:00 p.m. PT and introduces many new features, including a new online Pro League. This league will add in S and ∞ Ranks to achieve above the previous top A Rank. Players will also now be able to play in custom games with friends much more easily thanks to the implementation of Room IDs.

Other tweaks to the game include the option to use the Joy-Con leg strap accessory while playing in four-on-four or one-on-on soccer matches to make your kicks more powerful.

Two new moves will also be added to Volleyball: the Slide Attack and Rocket Serve.

This is the first update Nintendo Switch Sports has received, and is somewhat underwhelming based on the initial reaction to the game compared to the mega-hit that was Wii Sports. The game is set to add golf as a new minigame later this year, but fans will have to wait a little longer for that.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
I need these 10 GameCube games on Nintendo Switch 2 as soon as possible
A Nintendo GameCube sits on a table with Luigi's Mansion.

There are tons of exciting features coming to Nintendo Switch 2, but what's the one thing I'm most excited about? Nintendo GameCube games are coming to Switch Online. I know it's the nostalgia talking, but I can't help it. The Nintendo GameCube was my first real childhood console and I have a lot of warm memories tied to it as a result. I can't wait to jump back into games like F-Zero GX and Soulcalibur 2, two defining games of my childhood, the first chance I get.

My love for the GameCube isn't just about the good memories, though. To this day, I still believe that the GameCube features perhaps the best exclusive video game lineup of any console. It's not a deep catalogue, but it featured some of Nintendo's most experimental swings as well as some oddball third-party exclusives that have rarely been ported to other platforms since. With the Switch Online upgrade, there's now a great opportunity for Nintendo to bring some of those great games back from the grave, just as it's already doing with games like Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. These are the eight games that I hope to see add in the service's first year (assuming that recently remastered games like Metroid Prime are out of the equation).

Read more
Switch 2 launch game Deltarune is getting surprise mouse support
deltarune heroes in old portraits

Deltarune is one of the most-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 launch games, and now its creator Toby Fox says it's getting exclusive, mouse-mode-only content. This content was hinted at in the trailer, but only briefly. If you aren't familiar with Deltarune, it's the follow-up to the cult classic Undertale. Fox assures fans that the content will also be in other versions of the game, but it will play slightly differently due to different control schemes.

"As an effort to make the most of being a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2, I really wanted to try do something special," he writes. He says the difference in content lies in being able to use mouse controllers on both of the Joy-Cons at once. All non-Switch 2 versions of the game will have the exact same content. Before the FOMO kicks in, though, Fox goes on to say, "There is no meaningful difference in content amount, dialogue, setting, music etc between any version, so you will have a full package of fun no matter which you get! No one gets left out!"

Read more
One week later, this is what still surprises me most about Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World appears on a Nintendo Switch 2 screen.

Last week, Nintendo gave us a whole wealth of Nintendo Switch 2 details. We learned about its games, its mysterious C-button, and got more details on how its mouse controllers worked. It was a presentation filled with surprises too, from a shocking Kirby Air Riders reveal to the announcement that GameCube games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online. I experienced some real shockers of my own when I went hands-on with the Switch 2 and found myself enamored with its new control scheme.

I've had a lot of time to process all the news since then, and even changed my tune on things I was initially critical of, like GameChat. Sitting down to reflect, there's one thing that still surprises me more than anything: just how next-gen the system actually feels.

Read more