While Switch Sports is not strictly an eShop exclusive (you can buy the physical box), it functions like one for a few reasons:
Nintendo adopted a "games as a service" model here. To keep Switch Sports feeling alive, they released massive free updates, which is why searching for the "update" is critical.
Warning for pirates: If you download a base XCI from 2022, you must find the corresponding update NSP files (often labeled UPD v1.5.0). Without them, you cannot play Golf, Basketball, or Dodgeball online. nintendo switch sports nsp xci update eshop exclusive
As of May 2026, Nintendo has slowed major content updates. However, the scene is still hunting for one thing: Datamined exclusives.
Inside the v1.5.0 NSP update, dataminers found code for: While Switch Sports is not strictly an eShop
These items are currently locked behind "eShop exclusivity events"—meaning they will be time-released via the digital store. For those archiving NSPs, you must catch these updates the day they drop. Once Nintendo shuts down the Switch eShop (predicted around 2028), the only way to get these modes will be via preserved NSP update files.
No unique NSP is branded as "eShop Exclusive" by Nintendo. In piracy circles, the term is used to signal that the game requires eShop patches or that the provided dump came from a digital purchase rather than a cartridge. Warning for pirates: If you download a base
Nintendo Switch Sports is NOT an eShop exclusive. Both NSP (digital) and XCI (cartridge) dumps exist. The confusion is purely a holdover from the first three months after release when the physical cart was hard to find.
NSP is the format used for digital titles downloaded directly from the Nintendo E-Shop. Because Nintendo Switch Sports is a native digital application, the NSP format is the "source of truth" for the game. NSP files contain the encrypted content (NCA files), the ticket (rights for ownership), and the meta-data required for the Switch OS to recognize the title. For Nintendo Switch Sports, the NSP format is the superior archival method as it captures the game in its intended digital state, including the necessary encryption keys required to launch the software.