Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders open Thursday in the US starting at $450, plus everything else you need to know
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order updates: The latest on restocks, My Nintendo Store invites and more
Nintendo has sent out the first batch of its own Switch 2 pre-order invites.
anna washenko·valentina palladino·jeff dunn
Nintendo
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders are officially live at Nintendo’s online store — but only if you’ve received an invite. As advertised, the My Nintendo Store began sending out Switch 2 pre-order invites on Thursday to those who previously registered their interest and meet the company’s “priority criteria.”
If you’ve been chosen, congratulations! You have 72 hours from the time your email was sent to complete your purchase. If you previously signed up but haven’t received a notice, well, we’ll have to see when exactly it’ll arrive. Nintendo has been accepting registrations since April 2, and it’s sending invites to past Switch players and Switch Online subscribers before anyone else.
If you meet the priority requirements and signed up on the earlier side, you should (hopefully) get your invite before most others. If you signed up later, don’t be surprised if it takes awhile for Nintendo to grace your inbox. The company warned last month that it may not be able to send all invites — or even deliver all orders that do get placed — before the Switch 2’s June 5 release date.
Beyond Nintendo, the song sadly remains the same. As of our latest check, the device remains fully sold out at Walmart, GameStop, Best Buy, Target and other retailers. This has mostly been the case in the US since the Switch 2 first went up for sale on April 24, and it remains unclear when it’ll change.
That said, we’re keeping an eye out for any surprise restocks that pop up. If you’re still hoping to get your hands on the device early, we’ve rounded up all the Switch 2 pre-order listings we could find for easy access and broken down what to know about buying the console.
How to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 at the My Nintendo Store
As noted above, Nintendo is only selling the Switch 2 through an invite system, which began on April 2. While it seems unlikely you’ll receive your console before launch day if you sign up with Nintendo now, we still recommend doing so in case stock remains low at other stores. Registration is free, and you’ll receive your invite eventually, even if it takes some time.
On that point, Nintendo says it is prioritizing invites “on a first-come, first-served basis” to registrants who meet the following criteria:
You must have purchased a Switch Online membership as of April 2, 2025. If you’ve only ever been part of a family plan and weren’t the paying account, that’s a no-go.
You must have been a paid Switch Online subscriber for at least 12 months as of April 2, 2025.
You must have logged at least 50 hours of total Switch gameplay time as of April 2, 2025.
You must have opted into sharing gameplay data with Nintendo as of April 2, 2025. You can confirm this in your account’s privacy settings.
You must be a Nintendo account holder who is at least 18 years old.
If you fulfill those requirements, you’ll be ahead in Nintendo’s invite queue. If not, you’ll have to wait until after the priority registrants receive their emails. Once they do, the remaining invites will go out on a first-come, first-served basis. Whenever you get your email, you’ll have a 72-hour window to buy.
As with other stores, you have two models to pick from: the base Switch 2 console for $450, and a bundle with Mario Kart World for $500. Note that you can only purchase one console per invite. You’ll also be able to pick up certain accessories when it’s your time to shop.
We received our invite late Thursday evening after signing up about an hour after the registration window first opened. We’ve posted screenshots of what the official invite email and buying process looks like below. (A previous version of this guide linked to screenshots from Reddit and the gaming forum ResetEra, but one ResetEra user appears to have shared a fake invite, so we’ve removed that.) Broadly speaking, the experience is far less chaotic than it’s been at other stores. Our confirmation email says that our console will ship by June 4.
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order invite screenshot
This is what Nintendo’s official Switch 2 pre-order invite email looks like.
How to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 at other retailers
Unfortunately, the Switch 2 remains sold out everywhere else as of this writing. To recap the situation: After a two-week delay, Nintendo finally kicked off Switch 2 pre-orders at third-party retailers in the US and Canada at midnight ET on April 24. A couple of (headache-inducing) hours later, stock at Walmart, Target and Best Buy had sold out. GameStop began taking pre-orders later that morning but quickly met the same fate. Some eagle-eyed buyers were reportedly able to pre-order through Walmart as late as April 26, but things have dried up since.
Other membership-based retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club have Switch 2 listings as well, but we haven’t seen anything to suggest they will accept pre-orders. Newegg also has a Switch 2 page but hasn’t provided an option to buy just yet. As for Amazon, we assume the Switch 2 will eventually be available there, but it’s not today, and there’s been no indication as to when that might change. (Even before the Switch 2 was unveiled, stock of the original Switch and first-party Switch games had been limited at Amazon US for several months.)
If you’re desperate to catch a restock, it’s a good idea to create a free account with the retailers above and ensure all of your shipping and billing info is up to date with each. Downloading each store’s mobile app and signing up for notifications may help too, though that could get annoying fairly quickly.
*As of 1:15pm ET on Friday, May 9, Amazon has not listed either Switch 2 console package for sale. We will update this article with direct links if they arrive; until then, we’re linking to the site’s Nintendo-focused hub.
How to pre-order Switch 2 accessories and games
Naturally, there are numerous accessories and games up for pre-order alongside the Switch 2 itself. While Nintendo hasn’t changed the console’s price since delaying its initial pre-order date, it has hiked the cost of several accessories due to “changes in market conditions” (read: tariffs). The new Switch 2 camera, for instance, now costs $55 instead of its original $50, while the Switch 2 Pro Controller leapt from $80 to $85. An extra set of Joy-Con 2 controllers is up to $95 from $90, and the official Joy-Con Charging Grip costs $40 instead of $35.
Most (but not all) of Nintendo’s official Switch 2 accessories are still up for grabs at one or two retailers at a minimum, but stock has become spottier since they first went up for sale. Upcoming Switch 2 games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, meanwhile, remain widely available.
*As of 1:15pm ET on Friday, May 9, Amazon has not listed any first-party Switch 2 accessories or games for sale. (Some third-party devices and games are listed, however.) We’ll update this article with direct links if they arrive; until then, we’re linking to the site’s Nintendo-focused hub.
More Switch 2 details
The Nintendo Switch 2. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
We knew from its initial teaser trailer that the Switch 2 would be bigger than its predecessor and take a new approach to its detachable Joy-Cons. The Joy-Con 2s, as they’re called, now attach magnetically and include a C button, mouse controls and a built-in gyroscope for tilt control. The console itself is indeed larger, with a 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports a 1080p resolution, a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and HDR10. The hardware also has a built-in mic to support a new feature called GameChat that’ll let you communicate with friends in-game. (This is what that C button is for.) Nintendo says this service will be free to all Switch 2 users until March 31, 2026, at which point it’ll require a Switch Online membership.
When docked, you’ll be able to play up to 4K on your TV. Nintendo says it’s improved the consoles internal speakers as well. The updated dock has a built-in fan to keep the console cool and help maintain performance during long play sessions. Though we won’t know exactly how much of a power upgrade the Switch 2 is over to the first Switch until it’s released, it looks to be fairly significant leap, given that it’ll have ports of relatively demanding games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.
Elsewhere, the Switch 2 has dual USB-C ports for charging, while the internal storage amount has jumped from 32GB to 256GB. That storage is still expandable, but the device will only work with newer (and more expensive) microSD Express cards. As seen in the recent 20.0.0 update for the original Switch, the upcoming console will also utilize Nintendo’s new Virtual Game Card system for lending digital games across systems, as well as a GameShare feature that lets you share select titles locally with just one copy of a game.
Tariffs and the Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Con 2 controllers. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
During its most recent Direct presentation at the start of April, Nintendo showed off more of the Switch 2 than it ever had before. That included the reveal of its original April 9 pre-order date, in addition to its $450 starting price. Shortly after, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on China and other countries, prompting Nintendo to delay pre-orders in the US and Canada.
In a reversal, President Trump later announced a 90-day pause on steep tariffs affecting 75 countries, but also announced that the tariff imposed on China will go up even further (right now, it sits at 145 percent).
We now know that the original $450 price for the Switch 2 will remain the same in the US and Canada, but based on its official statement, it appears Nintendo is leaving the door open for potential future price increases.
We also know that Nintendo started moving some of its Switch console manufacturing to Vietnam in 2019. The increased tariff for Vietnam was set to be 46 percent, but that’s temporarily on hold in favor of a 10 percent tariff that’s in effect for the 90-day pause period.
It has been speculated that Nintendo will boost production of Switch 2 consoles in Vietnam so it can stay on schedule, even if it sells the console at a loss in the short term. It appears the company will have to seriously ramp up production to keep up with Switch 2 demand: According to Nintendo, 2.2 million people entered the pre-order lottery in Japan alone, which is far more devices than it is expected to deliver in that region on launch day. In total, the company projects it will sell 15 million Switch 2 units through March 2026.
