Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date: what time it'll be in stock this week in the US
The Nintendo Switch 2 launches this week, and we have confirmed the date and time when you'll be able to buy it in the United States
Update: See our in-depth Nintendo Switch 2 review, which is live after a week of thoroughly testing the new console. Check out our full Switch 2 news stories, too.
🎮 Our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order tracker is working overtime this week
🌟 We spotted the short-lived Walmart Switch 2 pre-orders on Friday
📆 The Switch 2 release date is June 5, 2025 – you can still get it in time
🚨 Priority Alerts: went to The Shortcut subscribers in our Substack Chat
🔔 Turn on notifications for Matt Swider on X to get additional alerts
This week, the Nintendo Switch 2 will launch to millions of eager gamers, meaning you’re running out of time to find a pre-order for the highly sought-after console. The good news is that The Shortcut specializes in tracking Switch 2 pre-orders, and we just spotted Friday’s Walmart restock before any other tech publication.
Didn’t see Friday’s Switch 2 Walmart pre-order? I sent priority alerts to subscribers in our Substack Chat, and, since April 24, I helped 10,000 people in the US buy the new Nintendo console at Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop, and Target.
According to my exclusive tracking data, only four American retailers and the official Nintendo Store have offered Switch 2 pre-orders so far in the United States. That will change on June 4 and June 5, when more retailers, like Sam’s Club and Verizon, will begin offering Nintendo Switch 2 consoles. Here are my daily sources.
Walmart: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Target: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
GameStop: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Best Buy: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Sam’s Club: Unknown time Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
The latest Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order
I detected a Walmart Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order on Friday at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. It was in stock for five minutes, just enough time for some of The Shortcut’s subscribers in our Chat to check out with the console, though several had their orders canceled.
What was difficult about this particular Switch 2 pre-order restock was that Walmart changed the pages for both the standalone console and the Mario Kart World bundle. This is why it’s important to turn on notifications and why other sites didn’t detect this particular Switch 2 pre-order. It might not always be in stock at the same URL.
How to get Switch 2 pre-order alerts
Get our instant alerts: Your best chance to find a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order is to follow Matt Swider on X – and turn on notifications. It’ll look like:
When will Walmart restock Switch 2 pre-orders?
Here’s some exclusive insight from The Shortcut: Walmart is promising that any Switch 2 orders (the console or the best Switch 2 accessories) that are ordered before June 4 at 8am ET will be delivered by June 5 at 9am local time.
That’s such a lofty promise that I don’t expect Walmart to have Switch 2 orders back in stock until after June 4 at 8am ET. Judging from our exclusive Nintendo Switch 2 sales information, Walmart sold more consoles than any other retailer in the US. It makes sense that it won’t have new orders for the masses until June 4. That said, I’ll still be tracking Switch 2 pre-orders before that time.
Best Buy Switch 2 pre-order confirmed
I personally have a Switch 2 pre-order from Target, but the actual delivery date shows June 6 instead of June 5. So, unless it updates or I snag a console from Walmart prior to the release date, I may opt to wait in line at Best Buy at midnight.
Best Buy stores will allow for Switch 2 pre-orders to be picked up at 12:01 am ET / 9:01am PT with late-night store openings across the country, according to the official Best Buy Switch 2 launch plans. I’ll be able to review Switch 2 sooner this way.
I also expect Best Buy to start offering online Switch 2 orders at midnight on June 5, although the electronics retailer hasn’t confirmed this information just yet. It has only put out a statement saying its “GameTruck Switch 2 experience” will appear at select stores throughout the United States from June 7 to June 21.
GameStop Switch 2 pre-order in-store and online
GameStop has been the most transparent about its upcoming Switch 2 pre-orders. It has publicly stated that in-store pre-orders will resume on June 4 at 3pm local time. Gamers will be able to pick up their pre-order at most retail locations at midnight (June 5 at 12am ET / June 4 at 9pm PT), a few hours later. Some GameStops located in malls with strict hours may be an exception, so be sure to call first.
For online orders, GameStop told The Shortcut that it’ll have the Switch 2 in stock on June 5 at 12am ET / June 4 at 9pm PT. But GameStop’s online storefront often goes live sooner than anticipated, and its online store is always buggy, so be warned.
Target Switch 2 will be in stock over two days
Target is doing things differently from every other US retailer. It’s fulfilling many of its online orders in stores on June 5 when it opens, and it’s promising that some stores will have a limited amount of Switch 2 consoles in stock when they open.
The next day, June 6, Target Switch 2 online pre-orders will come back in stock (well, I guess they’ll be “orders” or “Switch 2 restocks” by that point). Target hasn’t revealed what time its online orders will show up. However, from my years of restock expertise, given my PS5 restock history, Target usually opts for early launches, just before its East Coast stores open up. If it’s not at midnight, check Target at 7am ET.
Nintendo Store’s Switch 2 Warp Pass
I enjoyed taking the Nintendo Store San Francisco tour last month, and I plan to go to the New York City location with a Warp Pass to buy a Switch 2 console.
Nintendo’s Warp Pass is required to buy a console, accessories, and Switch 2 launch games from June 5 to June 9, according to Nintendo. You won’t be able to buy the Switch 2 without one, even if you line up hours in advance.
Sadly, all of the Warp Passes are gone. Nintendo offered them on a "first come, first served” basis for its June 5 at midnight to 2am ET launch window, and through a lottery system for the morning of June 5 to June 9.
Because the Warp Passes sold out, it’s all the more reason to keep it locked to The Shortcut’s non-stop Switch 2 pre-order tracking coverage. Walmart and Best Buy can still have Switch 2 pre-orders online at any time (GameStop and Target confirmed their specific online restocks), so you will have a chance to pre-order it in the US.
Matt Swider is the Editor-in-Chief of The Shortcut, the #1 consumer tech publication on Substack. Matt, a trusted technology expert with over 25 years of journalism experience and the former US Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, can be found on social media through X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.