- The price of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the US is changing
- Starting in May 2026, Nintendo digital titles will have different prices than their physical counterparts.
- Nintendo confirmed that “the cost of physical games will not increase” and retail partners will set their own prices
Nintendo has announced that the pricing of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the US is changing, with digital titles costing less than physical versions.
The news of a new release from Nintendo, which confirmed that starting in May 2026 and from pre-orders for Yoshi and the mysterious bookNintendo digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have a different MSRP than physical versions.
“Nintendo games offer the same experiences whether in packaged or digital formats, and this change simply reflects the different costs associated with the production and distribution of each format and gives players more options in how to purchase and play Nintendo games,” the company said.
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“As always, retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and the price of each title may vary.”
The statement suggests that current games published by Nintendo, such as Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomand pokémon pokopiayou will not see any price change.
Only new titles after May will be affected, starting with Yoshi and the mysterious bookwhich was previously announced with a digital price of $59.99. With the new changes, this means the physical copy will cost $10 more at $69.99.
Nintendo explained that the change “simply reflects the different costs associated with the production and distribution of each format and gives gamers more options in how they purchase and play Nintendo games.”
The Switch company has since clarified its statement after some confusion and confirmed that this does not mean that the price of the physical counterparts is increasing, but rather that retail partners will set their own prices for both.
“The cost of physical games is not going to go up,” Nintendo said in a statement to IGN. “This means that when Nintendo sells digital versions of Nintendo-published games exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 to consumers in the US, those prices will have a lower MSRP than their physical counterparts.
“Retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and the price of each title may vary.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that Nintendo was cutting production of the Switch 2 following disappointing sales over the holiday season. Bloomberg sources claimed that the company is now aiming to produce 4 million units instead of 6 million, despite the commercial and critical success of the exclusive Switch 2. pokémon pokopia, which sold 2.2 million units worldwide in its first four days of release.
Nintendo is reportedly waiting for other titles to show consistently strong sales to justify increasing console production.
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