Nintendo Switch 2 price increase takes place soon – here’s why you should buy one now
It ain't getting any cheaper, folks
📈 Nintendo’s Switch 2 price rise takes place in two months
💰 The console is going up by $50 in the USA and will cost $680 in Canada on September 1, 2026
👏 The Switch 2 remains a compelling purchase because of an ever-expanding games library, innovative features, and its more affordable price tag
😮💨 Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft have put their own console prices up by a significant amount, charging nearly $1,000 for six year old hardware
If you cast your mind back to early May, Nintendo announced it was putting Switch 2 prices up on September 1 – we’ve collectively blinked and somehow that date is almost here.
It’s just under two months until Switch 2 prices rise worldwide, with the console set to cost $499.99 in the US, an increase of $50 over its current $449.99 price tag. If you’ve been thinking about getting one – after all, it’s quite the compelling purchase a year into its life cycle – now is the time to do so.
Why is the Nintendo Switch 2 price going up?
But first, some context. Nintendo has hiked prices in the past, although they hadn’t directly affected the Switch 2, such as sweeping rises in Canada last year. Likewise, Switch 2 accessory prices also went up before the console had even launched in April 2025.
The Switch 2’s original $449.99 price caught people off guard when it was first announced, given it was some $150 more than the original Switch. It was originally assumed to be because of the President’s sweeping tariffs last year, but later, the then Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser attributed the price increase to having nothing to do with tariffs.
Now, though, it’s going up because of a range of factors. In a Q&A session with investors, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa noted that the rise was “made in light of various changes in the recent market conditions which we believe will have a medium- to long-term impact on the global outlook of our dedicated video game platform business.”
The factors cited include volatility in global markets for things such as oil markets and global exchange rates, as well as the now common problem: global memory prices.
The component crisis, in particular, has been blamed for the hefty PS5 price increases from Sony that saw the PS5 Pro rise to $900, and the PS5 disc and Digital models rise to $650 and $600, respectively.
Likewise, Microsoft has announced sweeping Xbox price rises for August that make the Series X $150 more expensive, making it $800, while the Series S is going to be $500 – the same price the Series X launched at back in 2020.
Even Valve’s long-awaited Steam Machine isn’t the price people had hoped, with the Steam Machine’s price starting at $1,049 for a 512GB base model, and quickly rising to $1,428 if you want the 2TB variant with a Steam Controller bundled in.
So, why buy a Nintendo Switch 2 now?
A year into its life cycle, the Nintendo Switch 2 has only become a more compelling purchase even than when it first launched in June 2025.
The Switch 2, right out of the gate, is much more powerful than its predecessor, with its support for DLSS and Nvidia’s RT cores (opening up support for ray tracing). Plus, it has a larger 7.9-inch Full HD screen with 120fps support in selected games and can output at 4K resolution when docked. According to one developer, Nintendo’s latest console is even a close match for the Xbox Series S
The console is innovative, too, with its new and improved Joy-Con 2 controllers, and there’s mouse mode support in selected games that gives you even more choice in how to play certain titles.
It’s got an excellent library of games, with some big releases also on the horizon, such as the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that Nintendo announced at its recent June Nintendo Direct event to come later in 2026. There’s also Nintendo Switch 2 Sports Resort, and a new Xenoblade game, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and Star Fox and Rhythm Heaven Groove just released.
It’s going to be hard to find a better deal than the Switch 2 at its current price tag, when everything else is going up in cost for the same hardware as several years ago.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.