Hello Kitty Island Adventure Is Free to Try for Nintendo Switch Online Members This Week

Nintendo Switch Online members can download and play the complete version of Hello Kitty Island Adventure at no additional cost for one week. The trial runs from 10 a.m. Pacific on October 9 until 11:59 p.m. Pacific on October 15, according to an announcement Nintendo of America posted on X on October 8.

The game is normally a paid release. It launched as an Apple Arcade exclusive in July 2023 before coming to Nintendo Switch and Windows on January 30, 2025, PlayStation 5 on August 5, 2025, and Nintendo Switch 2 on November 13, 2025. The Switch 2 edition is listed at $49.99, and owners of the original Switch version can pick up an upgrade pack for $9.99.

Nintendo describes the offer as a Game Trial, which its support documentation defines as a free, downloadable full version of a game made available to Nintendo Switch Online members for a limited period. The same documentation notes that once the trial period ends, or an NSO membership expires, the trial is no longer playable.

Progress is not thrown away. Nintendo's own FAQ states that save data from a Game Trial is not deleted when the trial ends, so players who buy the full game during or after the window can continue from where they left off. That makes the offer a genuine trial rather than a free week that resets.

The trial covers both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and is available through the Nintendo eShop under the Nintendo Switch Online menu. Members who take part also receive 100 Platinum Points on My Nintendo.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a life simulation and adventure game developed by Sunblink, the Boulder, Colorado studio also behind Hokko Life, and published under licence from Sanrio. Players arrive on Friendship Island and restore an abandoned island to its former glory across eight regions, befriend characters including Hello Kitty, Kuromi and Cinnamoroll, and spend their time baking, crafting, gardening, renovating cabins and solving puzzles. It supports single-player and multiplayer, and the Switch 2 version adds higher frame rates, increased resolution, CameraPlay support and Joy-Con 2 mouse control.

Online features in the game require an active Nintendo Switch Online membership and a Nintendo Account, so players without a subscription cannot take part in the trial.

The game is large for a download. Nintendo lists the file at roughly 4.3 GB on Nintendo Switch and 5 GB on Nintendo Switch 2. It supports single-player and multiplayer, with online sessions for up to two players and local play, and it supports Nintendo Account family-group lending so the trial can be passed between household accounts while the window is open.

Several pieces of downloadable content sit alongside the base game, including a Deluxe Edition and separate Wheatflour Wonderland, City Town and Tea Garden expansions. Nintendo's store listing notes that DLC bought during a Game Trial is only accessible again after the full game is purchased. The game is also available in Japanese and eight European and Asian languages.

Players on the two Nintendo platforms should note a limitation that predates the trial. The Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 versions of the game run on different engine builds, which means the two versions cannot play together online. Save files are compatible, however, so progress can move between an original Switch and a Switch 2.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure was developed by Sunblink and is published under licence from Sanrio. Sunblink's chief executive Julian Farrior said when the Switch 2 version launched that the game had always been about creating moments of joy, friendship and discovery, and that the new hardware would let more players experience that world.

Not yet confirmed: pricing for the game outside the trial window has not changed, and Nintendo has not said whether similar trials will be offered for the other free-to-play titles on the platform.