Nintendo Switch Online cloud save services won’t be enabled on all titles.

That’s because of the risk of cheaters and duplication bugs, states Nintendo. While the “vast majority” of titles will support the feature, online games like Splatoon 2 will store player data locally.

“The vast majority of Nintendo Switch games will support Save Data Cloud backup,” said Nintendo, in a statement to CNET. “However, in certain games, this feature would make it possible to, for example, regain items that had been traded to other players, or revert to a higher online multiplayer ranking that had been lost.

“To ensure fair play, Save Data Cloud backup may not be enabled for such games. To ensure that Save Data Cloud backups cannot be used to unfairly affect online multiplayer rankings, the feature will not be enabled in Splatoon 2.”

On the line

The decision comes across as bizarre, given that similar online multiplayer games overwhelmingly store player data on online servers. However, this may come down to the methods Switch games handle save game data.

The decision has also irritated fans due to cloud saves being a Switch Online feature. The new service replaces what was, until now, free online functionality with a $20/year fee.

While Nintendo assures that most games will be supported by cloud saves, a list of notable games lacking support includes Fifa 19, Dark Souls: Remastered and the Pokemon: Let’s Go! games.

Nintendo Switch Online is due to arrive later this month.