(Update) Pokken Tournament DX is free to play next week on Switch in Japan

Not ‘free-to-play’

[Update: Nintendo of America has confirmed that the promo will run in the west. The exact US times are July 29 through August 4 at 11:59PM PT.]

[Update #2: The promotion is live today! You can download Pokken Tournament DX here and play it until the above time.]

Once again, Japan gets to reap an extra benefit of regional Switch Online: free game sessions.

Not to be confused with “free-to-play,” where a game is fully free and monetized as such, Pokken Tournament DX will be free to try out for Switch Online subscribers from July 27 through August 2. Translation? It’s like Steam’s “free weekend” promos.

Basically from those dates on, you’ll be able to download the entire game and play it for free, so long as you meet those aforementioned regional and subscription requirements. It’s a very cool perk of Switch Online that the west doesn’t really get to partake in often: hint hint, Nintendo, start making Switch Online a little more enticing, please.

While local LAN parties aren’t necessarily all the rage right now, this is a great opportunity to hang out with the family and let loose with a very chill and fun fighter. I even have the wonky controller for it ready to go sometimes!