Surprise drop: Wario World is now playable on Nintendo Switch 2 through the Nintendo Classics: GameCube library.
Nintendo quietly added the Treasure-developed 2003 GameCube title to the Switch Online Expansion Pack lineup late this week. If you subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier on your Switch 2, you can download and play Wario World right now.
A garlic-fueled surprise
Wario World wasn’t part of the initial games Nintendo listed for its Switch 2-exclusive GameCube service, so the appearance felt a little like finding an extra coin behind a familiar couch cushion. The action-platformer — built by Treasure, the studio behind Gunstar Heroes and Sin and Punishment — casts Wario as his usual greedy, grin-first self on a mission to reclaim treasure stolen by a cursed black jewel. Expect enemy brawls, coin hoarding, treasure-hunting and the odd Spriteling rescue across only four stages, a compact package compared with modern open-ended platformers.
Nintendo’s official blurb points to Wario’s signature moves — the Wild Swing-Ding and a Piledriver — not just for damage but for environmental puzzle solving, clearing traps and opening new paths. For players who remember the GameCube era, it’s the franchise’s sole 3D platformer outing and a small but memorable detour in Nintendo’s roster of mascots.
Context: what this means for the Nintendo Classics library
Since launching the GameCube collection on Switch 2 in June, Nintendo has steadily drip-fed classics: heavy hitters like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and SoulCalibur II, alongside niche picks such as Chibi-Robo and Luigi’s Mansion. Recent announcements also teased N64 additions like Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Tonic Trouble, and Nintendo has hinted at other marquee arrivals (think Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Pokémon Colosseum) in future updates.
This quiet Wario World release underlines Nintendo’s flexible approach to the service — surprise drops alongside scheduled reveals — and keeps the library feeling fresh. It also arrives at a moment when Nintendo is celebrating strong hardware momentum: the company recently adjusted its outlook upward thanks to brisk Switch 2 sales, which explains the steady content cadence for the system’s online offerings. See Nintendo’s broader sales context in the company’s recent update on Switch 2 performance here, and how its release schedule and third-party support are shaping the platform’s 2026 roadmap at Nintendo's release planning overview.
Does it hold up?
Wario World is compact and a touch old-school: reviewers at the time and in retrospectives point out its brevity and occasionally rough edges — Nintendo World Report’s archived review gave the title a middling score — but many players remember it fondly for its goofy personality and Treasure’s knack for tight mechanics. For collectors and nostalgia seekers, the Switch 2 version is a convenient way to revisit the oddball entry without digging out an old GameCube and discs.
If you haven’t played it before, don’t come expecting a sprawling modern platformer. Instead, think bite-sized, characterful and a little bonkers — exactly the kind of odd corner of Nintendo history that benefits from being dusted off and made accessible.
Will you be booting up Wario’s garlic-fueled rampage tonight? Either way, the surprise release serves as a reminder that Nintendo’s classics strategy for Switch 2 will keep turning heads — sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly, and occasionally with a Piledriver.