The Nintendo Switch Era Is Officially Over

8 hours ago 10

A Nintendo Switch console with images of Samus, Mario and Link in the foreground.

Published Jul 6, 2026, 11:21 AM EDT

Chris is a Gaming Editor at ScreenRant. He has been a professional writer since 2009, and has written for top TV, comics, movie, and video game outlets like Engadget, Polygon, Destructoid, and more. He brings with him an expertise in every game genre, no matter how niche or mainstream.

You may know him as the former Managing/Reviews Editor of Destructoid, where he published hundreds of game reviews across every genre, including MMOs, sports games, and Metroidvanias.

Find Chris on Twitter @_SRChris.

Nintendo truly stands alone, at least in this current industry. Microsoft has just announced that it's cutting thousands of jobs, and parting with four whole studios. Sony is eliminating physical discs altogether.

Amid all this, Nintendo is weathering the storm, offering up physical copies via cartridges for most of its first-party games, and not making significant cuts. In any era beyond the Wii U, Nintendo has comfortably weathered periods of extended industry woes, and the worst isn't necessarily behind us.

It is the end of the era for the Nintendo Switch, though. As evidenced by new documents on the official Nintendo website, change is coming, and it'll be arriving quickly.

Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers List Of Games

Nintendo is going to have a busy time with hardware in the next few years, both on the Switch 1 and the Switch 2 fronts.

Thanks to new European battery regulations, the company is rolling out slightly different Switch 2 units to Europe: "In mid-February 2027, selected Nintendo products in Europe will begin to be replaced on a rolling basis by revisions that contain a user-replaceable battery. There is no difference in functionality between current products and revised products containing user-replaceable batteries."

User-replaceable batteries are not limited to the system itself; they also apply to the Joy-Con 2, Nintendo 64 Switch 2 controller, GameCube Switch 2 controller, and the Pro Controller 2. Summer 2026 is when the revised versions will start arriving, with a rollout through early 2027. This is effectively the same machine, just 14g heavier.

Within the FAQ provided on the official website (under the heading "What does that mean for Nintendo Switch consoles in Europe?"), there's another tidbit of information as well: the discontinuation of the original Switch. According to Nintendo: "Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model will all continue to be manufactured in 2026, and should be widely available in Europe all year."

That sounds ominous, doesn't it? Well, it is: "From mid-February 2027, almost ten years after Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017, Nintendo will no longer sell to retailers hardware in the Nintendo Switch family of systems – specifically Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model. Sales of Nintendo Switch hardware on Nintendo Store will also end in mid-February 2027."

Nintendo also slips this info in there for good measure: "Nintendo Switch Online, and other services will all continue for the foreseeable future." 10 years on, it's truly the end of an era for the original Nintendo Switch.