Nintendo announced a price increase for its Switch 2 console, joining Microsoft and Sony in increasing the cost of their gaming systems.
TOKYO, Japan — Nintendo announced that it will raise the price of its Switch 2 gaming console from $449.99 to $499.99 in the United States, effective Sept. 1, 2026 — the first price increase since the console launched last June.
Nintendo of America said the price jump is “in response to various changes in market conditions, which are expected to extend over the medium to long term.” The company added that it “deeply appreciates the continued enthusiasm” of its fans and acknowledged that pricing changes “can be challenging for customers.”
The $50 increase comes amid rising memory and storage costs, CNBC reported. The nearly $500 price tag is also a steep jump from the original Switch’s price of $299 when it launched in 2017.
The price change will be global. In Canada, the Switch 2 will jump from $629.99 to $679.99, while European consumers will pay 30 euros more. Japan will be the first to see the new pricing, with the increase taking effect May 25.
Nintendo had previously resisted raising the price of the Switch 2 hardware even as competitors Sony and Microsoft raised prices on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X due to tariff costs.
The Switch is a hybrid game machine, functioning both as a home console connected to a display, or as a portable handheld.
The announcement came alongside Nintendo’s latest earnings report, where the company is projecting slowing sales of the Switch 2. The company forecasts sales of 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the next fiscal year — well below the 20-plus million some analysts had expected.
For American, Canadian and European gamers who have been waiting to buy a Switch 2, the announcement creates a roughly four-month window to purchase one at its original price.
The hardware increase is not the only pricing news from Nintendo this week. The company has also introduced a format-split pricing model for first-party games on Switch 2, with digital titles carrying a $59.99 price tag versus $69.99 for physical copies — the first time Nintendo has formally priced the two formats differently at launch.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.