Nintendo is finally taking action to clean up the eShop on Switch 2, quietly updating its publishing guidelines to target low-effort games, misleading listings, and overly sexual content.
As reported by IGN, the new rules went into effect June 5, the same day the Switch 2 launched in Japan and parts of Asia. While not announced publicly, the guidelines are already reshaping what developers can and can’t release on the platform.
The big N is specifically taking aim at sexual content and low-quality content that has been taking over the eShop for quite a while now with a series of new guidelines to curb their overwhelming presence.
Nintendo targets Switch 2 “eSlop” with new update
A major focus is on stopping the flood of “bundle spam.” Some publishers have been abusing bundle listings by constantly repackaging the same games into new discount offers to stay at the top of the eShop charts. Nintendo’s new rule limits bundles to five titles within a game’s first year, with a slow increase to a cap of eight over time.
The update also tightens restrictions on what kind of content can appear in Switch 2 games. Nintendo now explicitly bans anything it considers overly sexual, discriminatory, politically charged, or exploitative of real-world issues. The company singles out content like the sexualization of minors, adult material, and depictions of hate or instructing criminal activity.
These changes are expected to hit anime-style visual novels and sexual games especially hard, a genre that has seen a boom on the original Switch eShop.
Nintendo also appears to be cracking down on games with misleading storefronts. Developers can no longer advertise features that aren’t guaranteed to be included, and games must accurately describe what’s actually in them. Many recent titles have used AI-generated artwork and vague promises to bait buyers into cheap, buggy products with little actual gameplay.
Games that violate these new guidelines may be flagged for revision or outright removed from sale. Nintendo says these decisions will be made on a regional basis and warns that repeated violations could lead to further action.
It’s unclear when or if these stricter policies will be rolled out globally, but it’s a clear sign that Nintendo is trying to curb the growing “eSlop” problem. Whether the crackdown works and how strictly it will be enforced remains to be seen.
Nintendo has also cracked down on pirated games since the launch of the Switch 2, going as far as banning users who unknowingly purchased copied software or rented games from their local library.
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