Nintendo Switch 2 digital games to cost less than physical versions in US

Nintendo has announced price changes to Switch 2 titles in the US, with digital versions costing less than their physical counterparts.

From May 2026, new Nintendo titles exclusive to Switch 2 will have different MSRPs. Costs will depend on retail partners who “set their own prices for digital and physical games.”

The platform holder said the change “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and offers players more choice in how they buy and play Nintendo games.”

In a statement to IGN, Nintendo clarified that prices are not going up, and that digital versions “will have an MSRP that is lower than their physical counterparts.”

Pre-orders for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will be the first game affected by these changes.

The game was announced at a digital price of $59.99, which remains in place, but the physical version will retail for $69.99. Titles released prior to this announcement, such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, will not be affected.

Nintendo continues to face production pressures from rising component costs and US tariffs.

Before its June launch last year, Nintendo announced it would increase Switch 2 accessory prices in the US due to market conditions.

For the console itself, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has not ruled out future price increases. He said the ongoing memory component shortage “may put a pressure on profitability” as the crisis is “happening at a pace that exceeds [Nintendo’s] expectations.”

“Any decision to change the price will be determined comprehensively taking into consideration not only for profitability, but also other factors like the platform’s installed base, sales trends, and the market environment.”

Earlier this week, reports suggested that Nintendo is adjusting Switch 2 production in the US following weak holiday sales.

According to Bloomberg, the platform holder initially planned to produce six million units of hardware for this quarter, but reduced that to four million after console sales reportedly fell short of its expectations.

Furukawa previously highlighted that hardware sales in Japan outpaced the rest of the market following the launch of its lower-priced domestic variant.

The Switch 2 broke US launch records last year, selling over 1.1 million units. The previous record was held by PlayStation 4, according to Circana data.