Nintendo 64 online on Nintendo Switch / Switch 2 (Nintendo Switch Online)

Nintendo's official way to play N64 games online. It is built into the Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Classics app and works only with friends (there is no public matchmaking). Up to 4 players, depending on the game. Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 players can play together.

Requirements

• A Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership for every player.
• Everyone added as friends on Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2.
• The Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Classics app (or Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Classics: MATURE 17+ for those games).

Host a session

1. Open Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Classics from the HOME Menu.
2. In the menu on the left, select Play Online.
3. Select Play While You Wait. You can set a passcode, which you share with your friends.
4. Select Invite a Friend to invite up to three friends.
5. Choose a game. Only games that support multiplayer are listed.
6. To see how to start multiplayer in that game, press ZL + ZR to open the Suspend Menu and select Starting Linked Play.

Join a session

1. Open the same app and select Play Online. It searches for friends who are playing.
2. Choose your friend's session and enter the passcode if asked, or accept their invite.
3. The host controls the menus. Wait for them to pick the game.

To leave, open the menu on the left and select Quit Online Session.

Troubleshooting

• Input lag: use a wired LAN connection (the OLED dock and Switch 2 dock have a LAN port; the original Switch needs a USB LAN adapter) and play with friends who live nearby.
• Can't find your friend: check that both of you have Expansion Pack, are friends, and opened the same app (the regular or the MATURE 17+ library).
• A game isn't in the list: only multiplayer games appear in Play Online. Some games need progress in single player to unlock multiplayer modes.
• Voice chat: use the Nintendo Switch App, or GameChat on Nintendo Switch 2.
• Server problems: check Nintendo's network status page.

Official help: How to start online multiplayer in a Nintendo Classics game.

Video guides

• How To Play Goldeneye 007 Online Multiplayer (Nintendo Switch) by JSkeleton's Nintendo World. Recorded in 2023, when the app was still called "Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online".