Nintendo is preparing a big multiplayer overhaul, probably for games in development in 2020: every task currently taken by NEX is going to be switched over to NPLN. It's currently in a preview phase, and the Monster Hunter demo was a way to test how it worked under load.
— Thomas (@thomasnet_mc) February 1, 2021
It uses gRPC servers hosted on GCP (or on AWS, with GCP in front) - it's fast, and it runs on multiple regions.
— Thomas (@thomasnet_mc) February 1, 2021
Looking forward to see the results of this effort, it's probably going to make the Switch's multiplayer much better than today's if it includes relay servers!
[Switch Online]
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) February 1, 2021
Nintendo is replacing its multiplayer server system, NEX (used in most, if not all of their online games since 3DS/Wii U), with a new system called NPLN.
The Monster Hunter Rise demo was the very first game to use this in public.
More below https://t.co/7doZFl7sDK