On January 16, Nintendo officially unveiled the successor to its incredibly popular Switch. The new device is simply called the Switch 2, it’s bigger, sleeker, and most of your old games should work on it. But now, the next question you might have is “When or where can I pre-order this thing?”
Here’s the bad news: Currently, you can’t pre-order a Switch 2. If you see any website, social media account, or app claiming you can pre-order the Switch 2, it’s a scam, and I’d stay far away from any of those links. Now, for some good news: We probably know when Switch 2 pre-orders will go live.
When Switch 2 pre-orders will (likely) go live
At the end of the new Switch 2 trailer, the company confirmed it would have a Nintendo Switch 2-focused Direct later this year. Specifically, the Nintendo Direct will arrive on April 2. And this is likely the date when pre-orders will go live in most territories.
It makes sense that Nintendo would wait to start taking pre-orders until it has shown more games and revealed more info on the upcoming console’s price and launch date. So I’d expect the Direct in April to end with an “And pre-orders go live later today!” announcement, or at the very least a confirmation of when to expect them to go live.
At the moment, as spotted by Wario64, Best Buy is letting people sign up to be notified when pre-orders are live on the retailer’s site. I’m not sure you need to do that. Every website and social media account dedicated to games will post about Switch 2 pre-orders the moment they are available. But if you want to be super-duper sure you have a chance to pre-order Nintendo’s next home console, signing up for a Best Buy email notification won’t hurt.
When will the Switch 2 launch?
Officially, the only thing Nintendo has confirmed about the Switch 2 launch is that it will be in 2025. However, the company also announced at the end of the Switch 2 trailer that it will be holding hands-on experiences around the globe ahead of the console’s launch. And we can look at those dates to help us pinpoint a possible timeframe for launch.
According to Nintendo’s website, New York City will be the first place in the world where you’ll be able to go hands-on with a Switch 2. That starts in April. Then there are a bunch of other cities around the world that will also get a chance to check out the device.
Currently, Nintendo has a demo event in Seoul, South Korea planned for May 31-June 1. That’s the farthest-out date confirmed. One would assume that Nintendo isn’t going to be doing hands-on demo events after the console’s release, so we can probably assume the earliest possible launch month for the Switch 2 is June. My bet is for July or even August. That gives Nintendo time to squeeze in a few more events if it wants, and gives the company enough time to market the hell out of the Switch 2 between now and then.
We’ll update this post as we learn more about the price, release date, and pre-order times for Switch 2.
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