Wario World Joins Nintendo Switch Online’s Growing Gamecube Catalog

Nintendo has added Wario World to the Nintendo Switch Online service for Switch 2 owners, expanding the platform’s GameCube library with a 2003 release that marked Wario’s first appearance in a home console platformer. The update follows the announcement of new N64 titles arriving later in the month, though this GameCube addition appeared without advance notice.

The game was developed by Treasure, the studio behind Gunstar Heroes and Sin & Punishment. Wario World introduced a 3D platform structure built around short stages, looping routes, and item hunts instead of the handheld format that defined the earlier Wario Land titles. Its release coincided with the first WarioWare entry, which later became the character’s main outlet as Nintendo shifted him toward rapid-fire microgames.

Nintendo’s catalogue for the service already includes handheld Wario titles such as Wario Land 3 on Game Boy and Wario Land 4 on Game Boy Advance. Wario World arrives as one of the more unexpected picks, as the game was not part of the original list of GameCube releases confirmed for Switch 2. Luigi’s Mansion, the launch-era title, was the most recent GameCube addition before today.

Several previously announced games remain undated. Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Colosseum are still pending release. Their absence leaves gaps in the rollout schedule, even as Nintendo adds unannounced titles such as Wario World.

The move arrives a day after Nintendo confirmed two Ubisoft-developed N64 platformers would join the service on 17 December. Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Tonic Trouble will expand the N64 lineup for Expansion Pack subscribers.

Read also, Nintendo plans further N64 expansion this month as Rayman 2 and Tonic Trouble join the service on 17 December, adding two 1999 platformers that shifted Ubisoft’s output into full 3D and broadened the range of legacy games available to subscribers.