The Nintendo Switch Online service finally launched on the 18th of September, and a lot of users were able to see for themselves what the whole deal was about.
One of the things that were known a few days prior to the service's launch, though, was that one of the most important features, the Cloud Save Data, was completely erased after the Nintendo Switch Online membership expired. This was not a wild guess by consumers as
Nintendo's official website heavily implied that these files could not be recovered after the subscription ended.
IGN recently reached out to Nintendo asking for clarification on this topic that was pestering a vocal majority of users. As it turns out, the Nintendo Switch Online Cloud Save Data can, in fact, be recovered once the membership expires—but only for a limited time.
Nintendo clarified that these saved files will be stored for up to 180 days in their servers, after that time period ends—if the user does not resubscribe to Nintendo Switch Online—files will be deleted.
This is what the Nintendo spokesperson told IGN:
"
If a Nintendo Switch Online membership expires, users won’t be able to access their Save Data Cloud backups. However, Nintendo will allow users who resubscribe within 180 days to access their previous Save Data Cloud backups".
The Nintendo Switch Online service is not expensive at all, so users whose membership has expired can still wait up to 6 months before their data is deleted for good, which may not be ideal but at least their files won't be deleted the minute their subscription ends. Seeing the glass half full here, people.