Nintendo price adjusts new Switch 2 games in US region, digital to be cheaper and physical more expensive

UPDATE: Nintendo has issued a statement saying that the price of physical games will not increase.

"The cost of physical games is not going up."

• Read more: Switch 2 game file size may affect its price, Nintendo says

"This means that when Nintendo sells digital versions of Nintendo published games exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 to consumers in the U.S., those prices will have an MSRP that is lower than their physical counterparts."

Original story is as follows:

Nintendo has announced that game price adjustments are coming to the United States for first-party Switch 2 exclusives, indicating that digital games will now cost less than physical games in the region.

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Nintendo today confirmed that it will soon be charging US gamers different prices for physical and digital games. While Nintendo was vague with real-world examples, this effectively means that physical Switch 2 games that are published by Nintendo will now be more expensive in the US than their digital counterparts (usually by $10).

These changes go into effect starting May 2026 for future titles, and are reflected in the early pre-order purchases for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which is listed at $60 for the digital version and $70 for the physical version. Nintendo was also careful to say that retailers "set their own prices for physical and digital games," and that "pricing for each title may vary."

That last part could also mean that Nintendo could raise the price floor of physical games to, say, $90. Remember that Mario Kart World was $80 both digitally and physically at launch (and currently right now) in the United States, and it's unlike Nintendo to lower prices.

Here's the official word from the company:

"Beginning in May 2026, and starting with preorders for Yoshi™ and the Mysterious Book, new Nintendo published digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch™ 2 will have an MSRP that is different from physical versions.

"Nintendo games offer the same experiences whether in packaged or digital format, and this change simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and offers players more choice in how they can buy and play Nintendo games.

"As always, retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and pricing for each title may vary."