Nintendo Switch's Hulu App Will Be Discontinued Next Month

Not surprising. Streaming apps aren't much of a thing nor needed for the Switch line. Major people have a laptop, Chromebook, or smartphone for such things.

@Shade_Koopa disagree. i use my switch for crunchyroll all the time, its just the most convenient option to get it on my tv. I use switch youtube even more. I wish i could have all my streaming apps on my switch. Maybe even 4k compatible apps on switch 2?

Yep, no surprise here. If Hulu was going to be phased out as a standalone app in other devices, the app on the Switch wouldn't be immune. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Mildly sad, but more than expected.
I doubt it will happen, but just maybe this means we'll get a Disney+ app on Switch/Switch 2? Again, I'm doubtful of that, but I suppose it'd be nice. (Not like I'd use it, though,,)

Not Nintendo, though somewhat relevant.

I had the original PSP and several movies on UMD (essentially an encased mini DVD cartridge).

While whomever now watches non-Nintendo video on their Switch. I can personally count on zero hands and feet.

@Shade_Koopa my girlfriend and her daughter always use the Hulu app on their Switch. You'd be surprised how many people who aren't of the terminally online sort like us don't even have tvs with smart features on it. I think a lot of the wider switch audience is like that.

I have fond memories of watching Hulu on the original Wii. Wonder when Disney+ will be on Switch? Wild it's still not there yet.

No worries, I have Android on my Switch. Perfect gaming + entertainment tablet. Wish that everyone could experience it like that.

@Shade_Koopa Or smart tv. At this point dedicated consoles are just to going to die out just like dedicated arcades, dedicated handhelds, dedicated phones, dedicated PCs, dedicated media boxes, dedicated plug and plays, and dedicated TVs. Dedicated stuffs that use to do just one thing are going extinct now. Nowadays everything are hybrids (stuff that does more than one things) and that's why everything is expensive (cause you buy those stuffs that came with more stuffs you never ask for). Switch is hybrid, Steam Deck is hybrid, PCs are hybrid (you can build one that had the best and worst of three worlds: Mac, Windows, and Linux when originally you could only have one), smart TVs are hybrids, cars are hybrids, smartphones are hybrid, tablets are hybrid, arcade 1Ups are hybrid, laptops are hybrid, PS2-PS3 & PS5 are hybrids, and Xbox's entire existence is hybrid.

@Serpenterror I wouldn't say dedicated console are going to dye out. For one, PCs are still VERY expensive and not exactly user friendly to those that just want to play games. Troubleshooting a PC alone is a nightmare.

With consoles solely being made just to play games, it makes them easier to use and less likely to have any problems. I've had maybe 1 tech issues with my Nintendo systems. Which compared tech issues being had every other day (I wish I was making this up) of a Windows PC, it's perfectly fine to have.

@Dang_69
I bet the amount of people using Hulu on their Switch is the same audience that buys physical games. Sorry but both are dying off

The Switch was never a hub for video streaming. Nintendo could have leveraged it as such, but focusing it as a game-specific console was probably the right move. Still, would have been nice to see Netflix and other services make their way to the platform

@SuppressorSteve Don't think that's quite right there, might be some correlation but probably not that strong. And there's still a very high demand for physical games (especially 1st party titles), I don't think that's going away for a long time even though physical media is dying. However, that's more a corporate decision rather than the will of the consumers.

It's so weird to me that Nintendo doesn't seem to care at all about streaming, especially since the Wii, WiiU and even 3DS had a lot more support. The WiiU was my only TV streaming device. Using the gamepad's touchscreen to browse YouTube and then send a video to the TV and continue to browse on the gamepad was the best streaming experience ever.

I had to buy a Fire TV stick when I replaced the WiiU with a Switch, but still preferred to use the Switch whenever possible. It was just much faster and a controller is a lot more convenient than that dinky remote. YouTube was my most-played "game" on Switch according to Nintendo's statistics

Now they even killed the existing few apps they had in Switch 2 with a generic "We are looking for a solution" and nothing has happened in 6 months.

@Axecon
Digital sales in 2025 on Nintendo alone was 53% of all games sales and that was up 3% from 2024 and 5% from 2023. For PlayStation it was 78% and Xbox 91%. Nintendo might be able to hold on for a few more years but overall physical media will die

Even though I don't like almost everything about streaming services these days, I still have fond memories of watching cartoons on Hulu as a young child. It's kind of crazy knowing that Hulu will just... no longer exist anymore, as of this year. Another part of my childhood just... gone. Alright, I need to stop doing this before I feel like an old man.

starding with the name, awful, terrible.

There's a Hulu app on Switch?

Didn't know they had one, but also haven't used Hulu in a very long time. I'm surprised it hasn't been shuttered entirely and rolled into Disney+ yet. Only streaming app I'd care to have on the Switch would be Plex, but even if it happened it would probably be the mostly useless no personal libraries version.

@Zeebor15
There is on the switch 1 but they are shutting it down when Hulu is also shut down and absorbed into Disney +

@Coalescence
Yeah given that Nintendo doesn’t like piracy Plex will never come to the switch lol

@Axecon considering most phone screens are close to the size of a switch it makes no sense

Has anyone else noticed that the sound from apps like YouTube and Hulu sound way worse than playing games?

@Shade_Koopa ye disagree massively. The main reason I even own an iPad is because I can't watch anything on my Switch 2. These really aren't difficult things to add, it's not like having them changes anything for people that don't want to use a switch for that. Other than Smart TVs Switch is by far the most obvious choice to have streaming apps on, yet for some reason it doesn't, yet PlayStation and Xbox can. Even the Wii had netflix

Nothing of value will be lost for me since the app wasn't even available in Mexico.

That said, the loss of these kind of services on consoles is a bad thing.

The money for Nintendo is in game sales... streaming content is essentially a competitor to gaming time, so it makes sense that Nintendo is not concerned with streaming apps on their hardware. Unless Disney/Netflix/etc are going to give Nintendo a cut of the subscription money, they are competition.

I'm not too concerned as I would rarely use streaming apps on Switch... but it would be nice to have YouTube and Twitch on my Switch 2 when traveling for the much bigger screen.

TIL there's a Hulu app for Switch

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person here who actually used the Hulu app on Switch very often.

Switch has Hulu?

@Zeebor15 literally, had the exact same thought.

Yeah makes sense, now that there are smart TV features in almost every TV made, it kinda doesn’t make sense to have streaming apps on consoles anymore.

Why am I not surprised...they wanted money just like YouTube...so why.... You all have your SmartPhone, Laptops, Ipad, Tablets, Desktop that can stream and do that already. Plus if you want ads-free you will have to pay for it. So there, why should I waste subscriptions fees for something that is for Gaming Console???? And I already have Family NOA for all to enjoy.

It's not too big a surprise considering Hulu is shutting down. I am disappointed because I have used that app several times when on vacation. It was pretty handy. It's nice to have a separate device to watch something on that isn't your phone.

Considering we STILL don't have YouTube for Switch 2 (it's still coming supposedly), I'm not surprised. Nintendo seems to be moving further and further away from media based apps on their platform.

@countzero

Why would it be weird? From Nintendo's perspective, they are not making a streaming device, or a multipurpose computer. They are making a video game console. Which, not coincidentally, is how they make money: selling video games to play on said console.

Support for streaming would literally go against their own financial interests.

So, can't help but be curious, since this reflects on the whole hulu disney issue...

When is standalone Hulu being phased out?
And if I get Disney Plus, do I get to see it all anyway? Or do I need to effectively double dip for Disney, and a hulu addon?

@Shade_Koopa That's copium. Hardwares should not be self-limiting themselves. It's up for the consumer to decide what the machines they bought and legally own are meant for. Why force someone to waste their time, money and natural resources by purchasing similar hardware just for a purpose it could cover? Not to mention it's a clever way to get people to try out new things and possibly draw them into gaming.

@metaphysician Nobody — especially not someone who already owns a gaming console — is going to skip playing first-party games or even just games in general just because there are other services available. If anything, streaming services on gaming platforms may encourage non-gamers give games a try and possibly hook them into gaming. I have absolutely no doubts someone has a history about a parent booting up a console to watch Netflix end up playing something only to find themselves loving gaming.

Besides, Nintendo themselves are going more multimedia as time goes, with Nintendo Pictures and similar stuff.

@metaphysician I guess you could argue that people watching Netflix on a Switch would have less time playing games, but Nintendo didn't seem to be very bothered by this during the Wii and Wii U era.

I actually had no idea it was on switch, or any streaming app for that matter. I always thought nintendo was anti streaming app on platform.

Is netflix on there too?

@GoproGO Playstation and Xbox advertise themselves as media boxes. Nintendo Switch advertise themselves as gaming devices. While a media device is expect to have a streaming app, a gaming device is not. While it's a nice addition, it's not needed. My Phone, Chromebook, Smart TV, and/or PC can fill that role with ease. Let my gaming device be what it's for: gaming.

@Strawblaze Your right, the consumer has a choice when buying whatever they want. They can choose to buy a Nintendo Switch/2 to play games or a PC/Media/Laptop for internet and streaming purposes. I don't know about you, but I buy a Nintendo gaming device to play games, not stream TV shows.