Super Mario Sunshine is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 through the Nintendo GameCube Classics app on Thursday, 13 August 2026. The GameCube platformer will be available to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members.
What the Switch 2 release includes
The GameCube Classics edition is an emulation of the original GameCube release. It has been scaled for modern screen sizes, but it has not received a visual upgrade. Despite first launching on GameCube in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine remains visually appealing more than two decades later.
In the game, Mario travels to Isle Delfino and is wrongly blamed for a crime. His punishment is to clean up the island while uncovering who framed him. The sunny setting and water-based gameplay give this 3D adventure its distinctive character.
Why fans have been waiting
Super Mario Sunshine was included in Super Mario 3D All-Stars, but that collection was sold for a limited time. Players who missed that release had little opportunity to play the game on a modern console. Its arrival in the GameCube Classics library provides another way to experience Nintendo’s 2002 platformer.
Nintendo announced the GameCube Classics app during a Nintendo Direct in April. The app launched alongside Switch 2 in July of the previous year with only a small selection of games. Its announcement trailer indicated that more titles would follow, and Super Mario Sunshine was among the games shown. The August release arrives more than a year after that initial announcement.
How Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions work
The standard Nintendo Switch Online membership costs $19.99 per year, or less than $2 per month. It includes online features on Switch and Switch 2, exclusive profile icons, cloud save data, the Nintendo Music app and access to classic NES, SNES and Game Boy games.
The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier costs $49.99 per year, which works out to about $4 per month. It adds classic libraries for GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy and Sega Genesis, along with downloadable content and Switch 2 upgrade packs for major Nintendo games. Nintendo continues to expand its classic-game apps with new additions announced throughout the year.
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Super Mario Sunshine joins the Nintendo Switch 2 GameCube Classics app on 13 August 2026.
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