Three decades ago, Nintendo discontinued its Virtual Boy console after it failed to catch on. But now, two of the unreleased Virtual Boy titles are set to make their debut on Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo has announced that D-Hopper and Zero Racers will be available on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass on August 4. D-Hopper was originally known as Dragon Hopper, and it’s a fantasy action-adventure game that puts players in control of a prince as he attempts to bring down an evil regime and free his loved ones, fairies, and elemental spirits from their grasp. Zero Racers is a racing game that was inspired by the SNES hit F-Zero. Both D-Hopper and Zero Racers would have been released in 1996 if Nintendo hadn’t pulled Virtual Boy from store shelves.
Nintendo is also catering to Virtual Boy fans with its latest additions to Nintendo Music. The following games have been added to that lineup and are available to listen to now.
- Virtual Boy Wario Land
- Mario Clash
- Galactic Pinball
- Teleroboxer
- Mario’s Tennis
Although Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey once opined that Virtual Boy had “hurt the VR industry,” Nintendo surprised players by adding support for select Virtual Boy titles in September 2025. It even released a plastic replica Virtual Boy as well as its cardboard counterpart to recreate the experience of playing the games in a primitive form of VR. As an unexpected benefit, players can also use the Virtual Boy replicas to access VR modes in Switch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.
Additionally, the GameCube’s signature Mario game, Super Mario Sunshine, will arrive on Nintendo Switch Online on August 13.