Switch 2 release date: what time Nintendo's pre-order will start
The actual Switch 2 release date is set for June 5, but if you want it on day one, you'll need to online to pre-order it, likely on April 2 at 10am ET
The Nintendo Switch 2 release date and Nintendo Switch 2 price are set, but the predorder date is still a mystery and The Shortcut is narrowing down the time based on the evidence we’ve seen.
Following the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct presentation on April 2, Nintendo still hasn’t announced when Switch 2 pre-orders will begin. There’s a chance that some (or all) stores in the US will have reservations on April 9. I’m tracking any new possible dates, just in case.
How to get Switch 2 pre-order alerts on X/Twitter
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Official Nintendo Switch 2 release date
The Nintendo Switch 2 release date is set for June 5, making this another two month gap between Nintendo announcing and releasing a new console.
This two-month wait happened when the original Switch had a similar Nintendo Direct eight years ago in January 2017. The actual release date was March 2017. As expected by The Shortcut research of Nintendo’s timelines, history has repeated itself.
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date
With two months until the Switch 2 release date, you’re going to want to focus on actually pre-ordering the new Nintendo console. That’s going to happen on April 2 or April 9, likely in the morning if you live on the East Coast of the United States.
I’m still leaning toward April 2. Why? Because Best Buy confirmed the Switch 2 date in a premature corporate blog post this week. Yes, it was a Best Buy Canada blog post leak and the post on its corporate site was pulled, but it remains the best tell we have to Switch 2 pre-orders starting on April 2.
Either Best Buy’s information was wrong, or Nintendo didn’t want that information to leak out there just yet. Nintendo probably wants all eyes on its April 2 Nintendo Direct where it’ll announce the Nintendo Switch 2 release date, the Switch 2 price, and the first set of Nintendo Switch 2 launch games.
Wild card Nintendo Switch pre-order scenario
OK, so there’s conflicting information about the Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date. It sounds like some retailers, like Best Buy, were originally told that April 2 is the date – and that makes sense as the Nintendo Direct presentation happens that morning. But now we’re hearing April 9 is the date from at least one retail source.
There’s a chance that Nintendo will sell the console via its online store and physical location in New York City on April 2 and open up pre-orders at other US retailers on April 9. This is straight from the Sony Direct playbook for PS5 Pro.
You should prepare to buy the Switch 2 directly, with a Nintendo Online account ready to go on April 2 at 10am ET. If you wait to pre-order until April 9 (if this wild card scenario plays out), expect five major US retail stores to offer reservations:
Walmart
Amazon
Best Buy
GameStop
Target
Wholesale clubs like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s are known to show up late when new consoles go on sale, so don’t rely on them. Antonline and Newegg often offer new consoles with bundles or a random selection process.
$449 for Nintendo Switch 2
The estimated price for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US is $449. That means you’ll be paying $100 more than the Nintendo Switch OLED and $150 more than the original Nintendo Switch at launch. Considering the inflation rate over the last eight years, it’s unwelcome but not unexpected.
We’ll have immediate retailer links so you can pre-order the console, whether it’s at 10am ET that day or at the same time one week later.
