Nintendo playtesting mystery new Switch Online feature this month with up to 10K people

In a moment of enigmatic revery, Nintendo has announced it'll be playtesting a mysterious new Switch Online feature later this month, and it's inviting up to 10,000 people to get involved.

Nintendo, never one to prioritise form over function, is calling this newly announced venture the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program, and the only clue it's currently willing to share is that it's explicitly "related to a new feature for the Nintendo Switch Online service."

To that end, participants must have an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, and the playtest will require them to download "exclusive software" to their Switch console in order to take part.

To get in involved, participants must be at least 18 years of age and have a Nintendo Account registered in either Japan, the USA, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain. Sign-ups are due to open via Nintendo's application form on 10th October at 6pm PDT and will close on 15th October. The playtest itself runs from 23rd October to 5th November.

So what could it be? Something related to that clock thing? The long overdue relaunch of Miiverse? An update that magically transforms your console into Switch 2? Pre-emptive legal action for whatever Nintendo fancies going after this week? Answers on a postcard below.