Nintendo reportedly plans to cut Switch 2 production by 33% after a lackluster holiday season — gaming giant slashes 2 million units from planned output

Nintendo is reportedly planning to reduce Switch 2 production after the company failed to meet its expected year-end holiday sales in 2025. Bloomberg reports that the Japanese gaming giant intends to reduce output from 6 million to 4 million units — a 33% reduction from its initial plan — effective April 2026. This is a disastrous development for the maker of the popular gaming handheld, especially after it had a blockbuster opening weekend sales of 3.5 million units, selling a million more units than the original Switch did during its first month.

This is certainly a challenge for Nintendo, especially as a console’s second year could potentially mark how it will perform over the rest of its lifespan. So, if the company fails to maintain the Switch 2’s momentum, third-party developers might be discouraged from making new titles for the console owing to its smaller user base compared to other competitors like the Sony PlayStation and the Steam Deck.

Some reports blame the larger download sizes and the increasing price of microSD Express cards that the console requires for the sluggish game sales on the Nintendo platform. However, a few gamers contest this, saying that more expensive titles and the lack of compelling new releases are the primary reasons why fewer people are buying games for the Switch 2. Thankfully, the just-released Pokémon Pokopia has seemingly garnered the interest of fans, with the title selling over two million units in just four days, providing a much-needed boost to Nintendo.

Article continues below

Others inside the company argue that the reduced sales were caused by people buying the Switch 2 much earlier than expected. The report claims that this was because of the ample supply that Nintendo had leading up to the release of the console. If true, then this could be the reason why the company experienced fewer sales during the holiday season. Furthermore, it could have been compounded by the uncertainty brought about by the tariffs set by President Donald Trump, with some people buying the console as early as they can to avoid any possible price increases brought about by the import taxes.

The company’s problems do not end at the underperforming sales of its handheld console, though. Skyrocketing RAM and storage chip prices are posing a challenge for every manufacturer, and Nintendo is purportedly already considering increasing the Switch 2’s $450 price, which could further reduce sales numbers. It’s also reportedly working on a hardware revision for the EU market, where the handheld may get a removable battery to comply with regulations that will take effect next year. While this will initially be limited to Europe, the fact that it will have to make some hardware changes would entail additional cost at a time when global instability and uncertainty are making everything else so expensive.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.