- The price of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the United States is changing
- Starting May 2026, Nintendo digital titles will be priced differently than their physical counterparts
- Nintendo confirmed that “the cost of physical games will not increase” and that retail partners will set their own prices
Nintendo has announced that the price of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the United States is changing, with digital titles costing less than physical versions.
The news of a new post from Nintendo, which confirmed this from May 2026, and starting with pre-orders of Yoshi and the Mysterious BookNintendo digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have a different MSRP than physical versions.
“Nintendo games provide the same experiences whether they are in packaged or digital format, and this change simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and provides gamers with more choice in how they can 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 prices for each title may vary.”
The statement suggests that games currently published by Nintendo, like Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the RealmAnd Pokémon Pokopiawill not see any price change.
Only new titles after May will be affected, starting with Yoshi and the Mysterious Bookwhich was previously announced for a digital price of $59.99. With the new changes, that 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 provides gamers with more choice 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 that retail partners will set their own prices for both.
“The cost of physical games is not increasing,” Nintendo said in a statement to IGN. “This means that when Nintendo sells digital versions of Nintendo-published games exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 to consumers in the United States, those prices will have a lower MSRP than their physical counterparts.
“Retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and prices for each title may vary.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that Nintendo was scaling back production of the Switch 2 following disappointing sales during the holiday season. Bloomberg sources claimed that the company now aims to produce 4 million units instead of 6 million, despite the commercial and critical success of the Switch 2 exclusive. Pokémon Pokopia, which sold 2.2 million units worldwide in its first four days of release.
Nintendo would expect other titles to show consistently strong sales to justify increasing console production.
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