- The price of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the US is changing
- From May 2026, Nintendo’s digital titles will have different prices than their physical counterparts
- Nintendo confirmed that “the cost of physical games is not increasing” and retail partners will set their own prices
Nintendo has announced that the price of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the US is changing, with digital titles costing less than physical versions.
The news from a new Nintendo post, which confirmed that in early May 2026, starting with pre-orders for Yoshi and the Mysterious BookNintendo digital titles exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 will have an MSRP different from physical versions.
“Nintendo games offer the same experiences whether in packaged or digital format, and this change simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and gives players more choice in how they can buy 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 current Nintendo-published games such as Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomand Pokemon Pokopiawill not see any price changes.
Only new titles after May will be affected, starting with Yoshi and the Mysterious Bookwhich was previously announced with a digital price tag of $59.99. With the new changes, that means the physical copy will be $10 more at $69.99.
Nintendo explained that the change “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and gives players more choice in how they buy and play Nintendo games.”
The Switch company has since clarified its statement after some confusion, confirming that this does not mean the price of physical counterparts will increase, 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 exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 to consumers in the United States, those prices will have an MSRP that is lower 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 is cutting back on Switch 2 production following disappointing sales during 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 Switch 2 exclusive Pokemon Pokopia, which sold 2.2 million units globally in the first four days of its release.
Nintendo is reportedly waiting for other titles to show consistently strong sales to justify increased console production.
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