The Switch 2’s GameChat Social Feature Could Revolutionize the Way You Play With Friends

One of the most exciting features of the Switch 2 is its GameChat, a new social feature that lets up to 12 people share screens, game together, or just talk directly via the console. It puts social features found on platforms like Discord directly onto the console in a way Nintendo’s platforms have yet to do.

Gaming is more social than most people give it credit for. Pre-internet, gaming with friends was the sort of thing you’d do together on the couch. After moving online, people were finally able to broaden their social circles to anyone who enjoyed their hobby, and not just whoever lived nearby; apps like Twitch and Discord have made this even easier.

While typically, gamers chatting are playing together, GameChat does not require you to play the same games or even play a game at all in order to chat. In some ways, the feature almost acts as an advertisement. People can watch their friends play games they themselves don’t own, and then, if they’re in a Family Group, borrow them via the system’s newly announced virtual game cards.

“There's layers to GameChat that I think are really exciting,” Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser tells WIRED.

The feature will reach its full potential in the hands of players, he added. “One of the things that for us is really important is that we watch and see how people engage in GameChat.”