Auto-renewals have been criticized for a long time. Back in 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo’s online subscription services. Auto-renewals were a large part of the investigation, but CMA was also looking into the companies’ cancellation and refund policies, price increases, and more.
As a result of the investigation, Nintendo has announced it will be updating its Nintendo Switch Online guidelines. Users will now need to opt-in for NSO if they wish to continue to pay. As a result, NSO will no longer be sold with automatic renewals. Sony has also announced they will be making similar changes to PlayStation Plus. Meanwhile, Xbox made near identical changes earlier this year in January.
CMA has now closed its investigation into the leading online subscription services within the gaming industry. The Nintendo Switch Online subscription renewal process should now be much more consumer-friendly moving forwards.
