Nintendo will stop selling the original Switch in Europe next year
The decision comes alongside an update to the Switch 2 to coincide with European battery regulations
The decision comes alongside an update to the Switch 2 to coincide with European battery regulations
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Jul 6, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC
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Andrew Websteris an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
Nintendo is making a new version of the Switch 2 with a replaceable battery in Europe — but its predecessor has a very different future. As part of an updated FAQ about revisions to Nintendo hardware in Europe, the company confirmed that it will stop selling all iterations of the original Switch on the continent starting next year
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
The news comes as Nintendo is making a bunch of changes to the rest of its lineup due to EU regulations requiring user-replaceable batteries. Starting this summer, the company says it will start introducing updated versions of various devices on “a rolling basis,” ahead of the regulations coming into effect on February 18th, 2027. “There is no difference in functionality between current products and revised products containing user-replaceable batteries,” Nintendo says
The Switch 2 is the most notable product being updated — the new version is expected to start rolling out in the fall — but there will also be versions of the Joy-Con controllers, Joy-Con 2, Switch 2 Pro Controller, and N64 and GameCube Switch controllers with user-replaceable batteries. “Due to a variety of factors, revised products may not become available in all European countries simultaneously,” Nintendo notes
It’s currently unclear what fate might await the original Switch in other territories, but the decade-old hardware is still getting notable first-party game releases, including Rhythm Heaven Grove and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
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