When Nintendo announced a limited member Playtest of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass a few weeks ago, many of us (who sadly missed out on the trial which filled its quota of 10,000 applicants in a few seconds) assumed it was a new and improved interface for the service destined for the Switch's successor console, but we couldn't have been more wrong.
Although the details of the Playtest are confidential, several sources have leaked its purpose online, and it's more surprising than we had imagined: it's about testing a kind of choral game, a cooperative MMO in which you develop or discover a gigantic planet where you collect resources, face enemies and go on an adventure of exploration.
Before exploring, and in order to map these areas, the player has to place objects on high ground called Beacons, which will clear the area and make it ready to collect resources. They have also reported the existence of a Core Development, a kind of common Hub where players can interact, obtain tools and exchange resources.
Details are naturally sketchy, but it looks like one of the most ambitious game projects we can remember from Nintendo in its history. It's unclear whether this is a standalone game or some way to gamify the user experience at NSO for the future, but the former sounds very coherent.