It seems you can pre-order the Switch 2 a week early in at least the UK and Germany, while Nintendo begins sending out invite links to hopeful buyers

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Sooo, that happened

Nintendo Switch 2 hardware
(Image credit: Nintendo)

So, last week, a Best Buy leak was like, "Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders will start on April 2," and then another leak was like, "actually pre-orders will start on April 9" – and, of course, one should never gossip, but it turns out they were both right. In a press release posted after the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct stream today, Nintendo confirmed that North American pre-orders will start on April 9, while fans in other parts of the world report that they have already begun.

"Pre-orders for some German retailers are open!" say multiple sources on Reddit. Likewise, UK retailers have also seemingly begun stocking both pre-order consoles and Mario Kart World bundles, with some on Reddit claiming to have successfully pre-ordered a Switch 2 at places like the toy store Smyths.

While many of these stores' live pre-order links now seem to be either down or completely sold out, GamesRadar+ was able to independently verify that Amazon UK still allows potential buyers to "request invite" to pre-order the Switch 2. In contrast, Nintendo's North American site says fans will not receive an invite link until "starting May 8, 2025" – which has got to be a typo, right? GamesRadar+ has reached out to Nintendo for comment.

In any case, GamesRadar+ contributor Scott McCrae has already successfully received his invitation from Nintendo UK – which comes with the condition that he's only been "selected for the opportunity to pre-order" and isn't guaranteed a console.

Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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