We made an interesting observation as Switch 2 games have gone live on the web version of the Nintendo eShop.
There is a dedicated page for pre-orders for Switch 2 games. As you can imagine, every game that was already announced to be part of the console’s lineup is on the eShop. There is even already a game on sale, as Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is 20 % off for pre-order, from $ 49.99 down to $ 39.99.
Oddly enough, Fortnite is also listed for pre-order, but at the price of $ 0.00. What this does imply, of course, is that Epic Games already has a version of Fortnite ready to deploy for the Switch 2 when it launches.
It’s possible that Nintendo and Epic Games simply were not able to communicate this with each other and the public quickly enough. So we had to get clarification from Epic that they made sure Fortnite would come to the Switch 2, after some earlier communications that the Switch version would not be compatible on the newer system.
But from here we have to talk about the real issue, as it appears that you can’t buy the full versions of games that have a Switch 2 Edition. We can see from these listings that these five games only have upgrade packs available for pre-order:
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
- Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
There are other Switch 2 Edition games, like Pokémon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, that have not come up for pre-order yet. We wouldn’t be surprised if there are even more Switch 2 Edition games that haven’t been announced yet.
We did make a quick check on the eShop in the Nintendo Switch itself. We confirmed that you won’t be able to find games that are on the Switch 2 but not on the Switch, such as Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition.
As you may remember, Furukawa promised in 2023 that Nintendo Accounts would carry over from the Switch to the Switch 2. That is a key factor on how Nintendo has planned out the integration of the eShop between the two consoles as well.
So it doesn’t look like the Switch 2 eShop or Switch 2 games will show up on the Switch eShop. But, is it possible that the Switch 2 app will have the entire Switch eShop integrated alongside the Switch 2 eShop? What if people who are buying Switch 2 Edition games digitally have to buy the original game on the Switch eShop before getting the upgrade pack?
For all the talk of how Nintendo has planned out their physical Switch 2 games, we seem to have not realized there would be some strange things going on for digital games as well. We wonder how these systems will work when consumers finally get their hands on these new consoles this June.
