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Nintendo Switch Online & PS Plus auto-renewal terms to change amid regulation

UK's Competitions and Markets Authority is pushing Nintendo and Sony to change how both present rules and auto-renewal on subscriptions.

TJ Denzer

April 13, 2022 1:00 PM

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Pressure from authorities is pushing some of the video game industry’s biggest titans to rework how they present information and rules in regard to auto-renewal of subscription services. Both Nintendo and Sony are changing up their processes and settings when it comes to subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus respectively so accidental renewals are less likely to happen.

These changes were recently shared as part of regulatory efforts by the UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. According to reports, both Nintendo and Sony will acquiesce to reworking auto-renewal options and the way related information is presented to customers. In terms of PlayStation Plus, the program will more readily alert subscribers ahead of renewal time. Moreover, if players have not used PS Plus services, then auto-renewal won’t take effect until they use the service again. In regards to Nintendo Switch Online, the auto-renewal option will no longer default to on once a subscription is ordered. Now players will have to switch the auto-renewal to “on” for it to go into effect.

The CMA was also focused on Xbox changing its rules and information in regards to the Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass subscriptions. However, Xbox has also been moving to make information and rules on both subscriptions more available and customer-friendly. It remains to be seen if Xbox will make further changes to its rules and info at the request of the CMA, but for now, it already seems to be on the right track to meet any requirements head-on.

With these changes coming into play for both Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus in the immediate future, it should make it more difficult for customers who don’t want to renew subscriptions to not get caught up in a renewal by accident. Stay tuned as we await any further changes and details on these matters from Nintendo or Sony.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.