Riders Republic lands on Switch 2 in December with an offline mode you can play without internet

Celebrating its 5th anniversary, Ubisoft confirmed Riders Republic for Switch 2 on December 9, alongside Nomad Mode, which unlocks most of the game without needing a connection.

Ubisoft used Riders Republic's 5th anniversary livestream to drop two pieces of news at once: the extreme sports game is finally getting a Nintendo Switch 2 version, set for December 9, and alongside it comes Nomad Mode, an offline system the franchise had been missing since launch.

Nomad unlocks most of the experience without needing an internet connection: players can explore the open world, progress through careers, unlock landmarks, find hidden balloons and customize their character freely. Once reconnected, everything done offline syncs back to the main account with nothing lost. What stays locked behind a connection is anything server-dependent: the shop, season progression, sponsors, user-created events and, of course, multiplayer.

For anyone who's been following Switch 2 since launch, this kind of announcement has become routine by now (the platform keeps getting one big-game port after another), but the detail worth noting here is specifically the offline mode. It makes sense for a console that's also portable: nobody wants to be locked out of playing just because the bus wifi dropped.

Ubisoft also used the occasion to open a free weekend for Riders Republic, running through October 26, with discounts of up to 90% on the Ubisoft Store and up to 80% on PlayStation Store and Xbox Store through November 4. Progress made during the free trial carries over for anyone who decides to buy afterward.

On the music side, the event brought an in-game concert from DJ Henri PFR, airing twice a day in the Ridge (the game's social hub) for two weeks, with the new single 'Make Love' joining the in-game radio starting Season 21. There are also crossover items from other Ubisoft franchises, like an Edward Kenway-inspired outfit from Assassin's Creed and a Rayman-themed bike, for anyone into cosmetics.

At the end of the day, after 17 million players in five years, Riders Republic remains one of the liveliest sports games in Ubisoft's catalog, and getting it running natively on Switch 2 (even without a price tag yet) is an obvious move to keep that base active. Nomad Mode might end up mattering more long term though, including for the other platforms, since it fixes a complaint always-online games have carried since forever.