NSO adds five new Sega Genesis games for December 2021

In a surprise release, the SEGA Genesis Nintendo Switch Online app has just been updated with five new games. Players can access Altered Beast, ToeJam & Earl, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermilion, and Thunder Force II., These are for Expansion Pack subscribers and are not offered in the base Switch Online membership.

Relive some of the iconic games that defined SEGA Genesis. Today, five additional 16-bit power-packed games have been added to the SEGA Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online library and are playable right now! Vivid graphics, realistic sound and the thrill of ultimate arcade power 16-bit gameplay were hallmarks of the SEGA Genesis system, and few games exemplified this quite like Altered Beast™, the original pack-in game at launch. Altered Beast “rises from its grave” today, and is now playable on the Nintendo Switch™ system with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. It’s joined by the games ToeJam & Earl™, Dynamite Headdy™, Sword of Vermilion™ and the lightning-fast space shooter Thunder Force II™. This is the first time that Thunder Force II is available again in the U.S., so don’t miss your chance to experience this high-powered blast of gaming history!

The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership plan features all the same great benefits of a Nintendo Switch Online membership, but with access to classic Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis games with added online play, as well as access to the Animal Crossing™: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC at no extra cost. Members in both Nintendo Switch Online plans can enjoy online play and the Save Data Cloud feature in a large selection of compatible games, along with access to over 100 classic NES™ and Super NES™ games with added online play, a smartphone app that enhances features of supported games, and the competitive online games Tetris® 99 and PAC-MAN™ 99. Both plans also provide a great way to connect and play compatible games online with friends and family around the world. With online play in compatible games like Mario Golf™: Super Rush, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon™ Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate, Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe and many others, a Nintendo Switch Online membership can help you experience everything Nintendo Switch has to offer.

You can see a trailer below

This is unexpected as Nintendo usually announces these games in advance,