So what is the state of Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders? While we don’t entirely know for sure, there are some updates worth your time.
Just as a reminder, Nintendo of America originally intended to start pre-orders for their own Nintendo Switch Online subscribers last April 9, 2025, only a few days after the Switch 2 Direct. However, Nintendo decided to change the date, “in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.”
Nintendo also made it clear that they have not changed the console’s launch date of June 5, 2025. While they didn’t make an official announcement yet, their website was updated to state that they would start sending out pre-order invitations for their Switch Online subscribers on May 8.
Everything that we reported since then has been rumors, and so are these. But here and now, they are the update that those of you who are ready, willing, and able to buy the Switch 2 at launch need to know.
Wario64 started things off, sharing that code on Target’s website indicated that pre-orders could go up on the website on April 30, 2025. Afterwards, billbil-kun revealed that Canadian retailers have a pre-order date set of April 23, 2025. Since Nintendo of America services both Canada and the USA, their plans in Canada may match or be related to plans in the USA.
Finally, billbil-kun stated that different US retailers had different dates for pre-orders. They had Switch 2 consoles scheduled for pre-order on either April 21 or April 30. Accessories like the Switch 2 Pro Controller are scheduled for April 30.
It’s clear that retailers are making their best estimates based on how they believe they can best mitigate the situation. All retailers are planning for pre-orders to start before April ends, possibly because they have to commit resources for April just in case. But if the information on Nintendo’s website is accurate, it will probably actually start on or after May 8 for those retailers.
It’s unlikely that Nintendo will allow their retail partners to offer better pre-order plans than they are themselves offering to their Switch Online subscribers. But then again, it’s possible that these retailers will choose to take names for pre-orders, knowing that they aren’t the priority. It’s possible that Nintendo will make sure their Switch Online subscribers, who met their stringent requirements for loyalty tests, all get Switch consoles first before any of the retailers do.
And this isn’t about punishing other gamers for being ‘less loyal’ to Nintendo. It’s part of their measures to mitigate scalpers and resellers from taking advantage once again. There may certainly be Nintendo fans who won’t get to take advantage of Nintendo’s pre-order offer, but they’ll be able to reduce the consumers who are target of these scalpers and resellers; those same very loyal Nintendo fans.
It’s unfortunate that this is all happening in the middle of the issues with tariffs, as Nintendo had good plans to beat scalpers. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how Nintendo will ultimately start selling the Switch 2.
