Switch 2 Sales: 23.7M Sold, 16.5M Forecast & Price Increase

Despite Switch 2 being a massive success in all aspects reported by Nintendo, they are still forecasting a lower amount to be sold in its second year. It has sold 23.68 million globally as of June 30, 2026 according to FullCleared. 3.82 million were sold in the April to June and that is a big 34.4% decrease in comparison to the previous quarter.

They expect 16.5 million Switch 2's to be sold in the full year ending March 2027, which is a 16.9% decrease from last year. This figure hasn't been changed according to the results reported on August 6.

As of August 2026 Switch 2 is the top selling console in the US, both in units and revenue, according to Final Weapon using Circana data. PlayStation 5 came second.

The price has changed, with Nintendo announcing in May that it would increase the price of Switch 2 in the US from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026. On May 25 they also increased the price in Japan.

Below you can see all the sales figures, forecast, pricing and US data. All of these figures are from the news and some fan sites, so won't be fully accurate.

Switch 2 launched in June 2025. It still holds the title of the fastest selling video game hardware platform of all time tracked, according to Mat Piscatella from Circana in January 2026 (Video Games Chronicle). 4.4 million were sold in the US in 2025, just above the 4.3 million forecast by Circana before launch.

It was 35% ahead of the PS4 in the US in terms of units and nearly twice as many as the original Switch. It was the top selling hardware in December and overall. Hardware spending also increased by 6% in December and 9% in 2025 due to the Switch 2 boosting sales. Globally, Switch 2 has sold 17.37 million units as of December 31, 2025 (GamesBeat). Of those 7 million were sold in the December quarter. Nintendo expected to sell 19 million units overall.

Software has sold 39 million copies. Mario Kart World has sold 14 million and Donkey Kong Bananza has sold 4.25 million.

These figures are why year two looks quite different.

As of May 8, 2026 Switch 2 has sold 19.86 million units since launch, beating the 19 million forecast. This is a 4.43% increase over expectations. Our calculation shows this to be around a 4.5% increase. This is using the unit figures.

Lower Bucks Times reported that as of March 31, 2026 Nintendo had shipped 19.86 million units. Of those 2.49 million were sold in the January to March quarter. This matches up with the 17.37 million sold at the end of December. 17.37 + 2.49 = 19.86.

This also matches up with FullCleared who stated that 23.68 million had been sold as of June 30, 2026. 23.68 - 3.82 (April to June) = 19.86.

However, these figures are the number of units shipped to retailers and distributors. Sell through can vary. Lower Bucks Times stated that globally the sell through is just under 20 million.

Nintendo are expecting sales of Switch 2 hardware to decrease by 16.9% to 16.5 million units in the fiscal year ending March 2027. They have called this a healthy amount of sales. Although the original Switch has continued to do well, second year sales are typically higher so it is a notable decrease.

This will bring the total to around 36.4 million units by March 2027. 19.86 + 16.5 = 36.4.

3.82 million were sold in the first quarter of the year. This is around 23% of the annual forecast. This leaves around 12.7 million to be sold over the remaining 3 quarters. This averages out to around 4.2 million per quarter. We aren't saying this, this is our calculation. This shows just how much they would need to sell in the holiday quarter.

Other forecasts from Nintendo have stayed the same. They expect Switch 2 to sell 16.5 million units and 60 million software units. They expect 2 million original Switch units to be sold and 105 million games.

Nintendo's forecasts for the company overall have stayed the same. They expect net sales of 2.05 trillion yen, operating profit of 370 billion yen and profit attributable to owners of 310 billion yen, according to the Swiss finance summary.

Nintendo have increased the price of Switch 2 in the US from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026, which is around an 11% increase. Canada has increased from C$629.99 to C$679.99 and Europe has increased from 469.99 euros to 499.99 euros on the same date. Japan was the first to increase. The price rose from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen on May 25. This is around a 20% increase.

Nintendo stated that this was due to various changes in market conditions and they expect this to continue in the medium to long term. They stated that the main reason for the increase was due to increased memory costs and a weak Yen. Increasing oil prices also affect shipping, according to Nintendo Wire using Reuters Japan.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated during the May 8 results presentation that this wouldn't cover all the increased costs. He added that whilst they want to ensure wide adoption they are finding it difficult to absorb increased costs over a long period of time. They will ensure a strong software line-up to increase the value of Switch 2.

The original Switch, Switch OLED and Switch Lite will not be increasing in price in the US, Canada or Europe. Only Japan has increased, by around 10,000 yen each. Nintendo have not stated if the original Switch will increase in price in the US, according to Notebookcheck.

However, Nintendo will soon be selling digital versions of their games at a lower price than physical copies. This may help soften the price increase for some people, according to Nintendo Wire. We couldn't find out how much cheaper they are.

Lower Bucks Times says buying before September 1 saved $50 at the suggested price but warns that retailers set their own prices. The effective date is now behind us, so the $499.99 price is the one in force as scheduled, though we did not verify that shelf prices matched.

Nintendo released their first quarter results on August 6, 2026. Switch 2 sold 3.82 million units in the quarter, a 34.4% decrease. This is comparing to the launch quarter. However, Nintendo stated that sell through was better than the original Switch at this point in its life cycle despite the price increase in Japan on May 25.

Net sales decreased by 9.5% to 517.8 billion yen. Operating profit increased to around 142.5 billion yen according to FullCleared. The Swiss finance summary stated that it increased to 142.6 billion yen. This is around a 150% increase. We'll say around 142.6 billion yen. The one decimal place difference. Net profit increased by 53.5% to 147.42 billion yen according to the finance summary.

There were two reasons for the increased profits. The increase in software sales as a percentage of sales and $300 million of US tariffs being refunded. These had been previously included in their costs. The finance summary stated that this was due to US IEEPA tariffs being refunded.

Digital sales increased by around 90%, to 132.7 billion yen. This made up 61.5% of sales. Annual players remain steady at 130 million, according to Perfectly Nintendo (fan site).

The original Switch sold 660,000 units. This brings the total hardware sales to 156.59 million. This is nearly reaching the record for PlayStation 2 of around 160 million, according to FullCleared.

Switch 2 software has sold 9.46 million units, a 9.2% increase. This brings the total to 58.17 million. Switch software has sold 33.81 million, a 38.6% increase. Many users are playing Switch games on Switch 2, according to Perfectly Nintendo.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has sold 7.94 million since launch on Switch on April 16. This has passed 8 million in sell through, according to FullCleared. Pokémon Pokopia has added 1.27 million units in the quarter, bringing the total to 3.68 million (sell in). Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Star Fox also helped sales.

Mario Kart World has sold 15.39 million units in total, with 690,000 added in the quarter. Donkey Kong Bananza has sold 4.78 million. These figures are from a table on the page. The table stated that this information came from a forum post so are unverified. Tomodachi Life has sold 7.96 million according to the table, however it states 7.94 million.

The original Switch has reached 1.56 billion software sales in total. Nintendo plan to take advantage of the large installed base and evergreen titles. However, they plan to regularly release new games for Switch 2 to widen their audience, according to Perfectly Nintendo.

Super Mario Galaxy Movie helped boost Nintendo's IP. It increased by 107.4% to 34.8 billion yen. The movie had a box office of over $1 billion, according to Perfectly Nintendo.

Switch 2 was the top selling console in the US in August 2026 and year to date, in both units and revenue. PlayStation 5 came second, according to Final Weapon using Circana data from Mat Piscatella. We couldn't read the original post from Mat Piscatella.

Overall the market isn't doing well. Hardware spending fell by 3% to $302 million, and year-to-date spending is 11 percent behind 2025 at $2.5 billion in August. Unit sales fell by 15% to 559,000. PlayStation fell by 11%, Xbox fell by 31% and Nintendo fell by 15%. However, PS5 had an increase of 17% in dollar sales. Switch 2 and Xbox Series fell by 13% in hardware spending.

Average hardware price in the US hit a record high of $541, up from $476 in August last year. This caused spending to fall. Similar to July, Notebookcheck reported that console unit sales fell dramatically in the US. Average console price increased by 16% to $542, according to Circana (Tom's Hardware). However, we couldn't read this page so this is unverified. It mentioned a 39% fall.

This was the lowest August total since 2013 (423,000), according to the same article. This doesn't match up with our figure of 559,000.

Resident Evil Requiem is the top selling game of 2026 so far. It is also available on Switch 2. Tomodachi Life is expected to be 8th and Pokémon Pokopia is 10th.

None of the articles mentioned one reason why they expect to sell 16.5 million. The first year launch effect makes comparison difficult, and the sources also point to price increases and higher memory and component costs.

TweakTown ties the price rise to memory, chip and storage shortages affecting the industry. Lower Bucks Times argues the increase reflects input costs rather than weak demand. These are the writers' readings and not statements from Nintendo.

The Q1 figures show some good news for Nintendo. 3.82 million units were sold, nearly a quarter of the annual forecast. They also stated that sell through was better than the original Switch.

We don't know what the holiday will look like. 7 million units were sold in the December 2025 quarter, prior to any price increase. This means that they expect to sell around 12.7 million over the remaining 3 quarters. This could still be the case as the holiday quarter could be much lower than last year's 7 million. 23.68 - 3.82 = 19.86. Nintendo haven't published any quarterly breakdown.

A GamesBeat headline says Nintendo said tariffs and memory chip prices could cost 700 million dollars, but we saw only the headline and not the page, so we do not rely on it.

The first thing to watch out for is the quarter ending September 30. This will include the first month of the new price. We couldn't find out when Nintendo will next report.

Next, watch out for the software. Nintendo Direct on September 9 mentioned Pikmin 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be released on November 12, Monster Hunter Wilds on December 4 and Professor Layton on December 10. Metroid Ravenous is due to be released on January 28, 2027, according to Game Informer.

Another signal is software. Lower Bucks Times says Splatoon Raiders topped the Switch 2 eShop chart in the week of July 26, beating Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch 2 Edition, Mario Kart World and Star Fox. Nintendo also had a 2026 Summer Sale which includes Switch 2 and original Switch software. Discounted software won't be affected by the hardware price increase in September.

Third, bundles. Notebookcheck says Nintendo has announced game-inclusive Switch 2 bundles for coming months that could cost more than $500, while Lower Bucks Times says no bundle tied to the new price had been announced and gives no bundle prices. The two reports differ, and we could not find prices.

Black Friday is on November 27, 2026. We couldn't find any verified promotions for Switch 2.

We couldn't read Nintendo's financial documents. All unit and profit figures are from the news and summaries from fan sites. If there are conflicting summaries, we'll mention.

We couldn't verify the unit decrease in July, original posts from Circana or Mario Kart World total.

We couldn't verify if there are any bundles or what the price is. We couldn't verify if the price went up on all retailers on September 1.

We couldn't find when Nintendo will next report earnings or if they have updated their forecast. The latest forecast we could find was 16.5 million.

FullCleared, Switch 2 reaches 23.68M units sold in Nintendo Q1 results: https://fullcleared.com/news/switch-2-reaches-23-68m-units-sold-in-nintendo-q1-results/

Perfectly Nintendo, Nintendo Financials (August 2026): https://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/?p=662475

Vermoegenszentrum, Nintendo Q1 FY27 operating profit more than doubled: https://www.vermoegenszentrum.ch/en/stock-exchange-and-markets/news/nintendo-q1-fy27-operating-profit-more-doubled-yen-1426-billion-net

TweakTown, Nintendo is raising the Switch 2 price by $50 in the US, predicts lower year 2 sales: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/111528/nintendo-is-raising-the-switch-2-price-by-dollars50-in-the-us-predicts-lower-year-2-sales/index.html

Shacknews, Nintendo Switch 2 console has sold 19.86 million units since launch: https://www.shacknews.com/article/149058/nintendo-switch-2-unit-sales

GamesBeat, Nintendo maintains profit forecast as Switch 2 crosses 17.37M sold: https://gamesbeat.com/nintendo-maintains-profit-forecast-as-switch-2-crosses-17-37m-sold/

Video Games Chronicle, Nintendo Switch 2 sold 4.4 million units in the US in 2025: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-switch-2-sold-4-4-million-units-in-the-us-in-2025-remains-the-fastest-selling-console-in-us-history

Final Weapon, Nintendo Switch 2 is the best-selling console of August and 2026 year to date in the US: https://finalweapon.net/2026/10/08/nintendo-switch-2-is-the-best-selling-console-of-august-and-2026-year-to-date-in-the-u-s/

PC Gamer, Nintendo is raising the price of the Switch 2 later this year: https://pcgamer.com/hardware/nintendo-is-raising-the-price-of-the-switch-2-later-this-year/

Nintendo Wire, Nintendo president states Switch 2 price increase won't cover all cost increases: https://nintendowire.com/news/2026/05/11/nintendo-president-states-switch-2-price-increase-wont-cover-all-cost-increases/

Notebookcheck, Switch 2 price hike to take effect next week even as console sales take a hit in July: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Switch-2-price-hike-to-take-effect-next-week-even-as-console-sales-take-a-hit-in-July.1381459.0.html

Lower Bucks Times, Nintendo Switch 2 price increase to $499 in September: https://lowerbuckstimes.com/2026/07/26/nintendo-switch-2-price-increase-499-september/

Game Informer, Everything announced at the September 2026 Nintendo Direct: https://gameinformer.com/nintendo-direct/2026/09/09/everything-announced-at-the-september-2026-nintendo-direct