Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order this week: how to get an invite to buy the console

Switch 2 pre-orders will come to the My Nintendo Store on Thursday, May 8, but only if you ‘request interest’ and pay attention to your email (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

• 🍄 Switch 2 pre-orders will be available at the My Nintendo Store this week

• 📆 Pre-orders start on May 8 at an unknown time via e-mail (see below)

• 🎟️ You’ll need an invite to purchase the new console, and it will sell out

• 📜 To even have a chance at an invite, you need to meet strict requirements

• 😬 Nintendo said it might not be able to deliver these consoles by June 5

• 👀 For this reason, I’ll still track Walmart & other US Switch 2 pre-orders

• 🚨 Priority Alerts: The Shortcut subscribers get 1:1 help in our Substack Chat

• 🔔 Turn on notifications for Matt Swider on X to get additional alerts

The next Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order is this week, which will be the first time you’ll be able to buy the console in the US through Nintendo’s official online store via your email.

An email invite is required to even attempt to purchase a Switch 2 at the My Nintendo Store on May 8, 2025. Thursday will be the first time the console has been available to pre-order since Walmart’s Switch 2 surprise restock had everyone refreshing that page last Saturday. Demand for the console has only increased.

The Shortcut has helped more than 10,000 people in the US order Nintendo Switch 2 and some of the best Switch 2 accessories over the past two weeks. Our priority alerts in our Substack Chat gave subscribers a leg up on when to buy the console.

We’ll also be following how many My Ninyendo Store email invites got out, but we can only do so much to track the console in this situation, as Nintendo has its own rules for who qualifies for the invite email. Let me explain those requirements.

• Get our instant alerts: Your best chance to find a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order is to follow Matt Swider on X – and turn on notifications. It’ll look like:

US Stores may not restock Switch 2 again until after Nintendo starts its May 8 pre-orders (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

Unlike other US retailers that sold Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders on a first-come, first-served basis, the My Nintendo Store will randomly select loyal Nintendo fans via email. This is what Sony often did at its PlayStation Direct Store for each PS5 restock.

• Walmart: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Target: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• GameStop: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Best Buy: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Sam’s Club: Unknown time Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

Nintendo is being more strict with Switch 2 sales. It’s putting requirements in place to prevent bots and resellers from scooping up all of the My Nintendo Store consoles.

Even if you request an invite and pre-order, Nintendo says it’s not a guarantee of getting a console on June 5 (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

No one upstages Nintendo, so I don’t foresee Walmart restocking pre-orders of the Switch 2 before May 8. This week belongs to Nintendo and its loyal fans.

Speaking of which, our My Nintendo pre-order guide offers an in-depth look at how to qualify for a pre-order email invite:

1. A Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least 12 months

2. A minimum of 50 hours of total gameplay logged on your Switch 1

3. Opted into sharing gameplay data with Nintendo in the privacy settings

4. You must be 18 years old or older, per Nintendo’s rules

📄 Note 1: This non-transferable invite to buy the Switch 2 will be valid for 72 hours and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Nintendo.

📄 Note 2: You need to be the primary account holder, so the lead account in a Nintendo Switch Online Family Plan (the one paying) is the only account eligible (unless someone in the family previously had NSO for 12 months on their own at a prior time).

Not even will qualify, and not everyone who qualifies will get an email invite from Nintendo (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

There’s no guarantee that Nintendo will send you an email invite on Thursday, May 8, even if you “request interest.” That’s because the demand for Switch 2 in the US has far exceeded expectations and supply. This also happened in Japan, where Nintendo’s president apologized for the lack of Switch 2 inventory.

Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop sold out of Switch 2 pre-orders in minutes on April 24, and it probably would have sold out in seconds if their websites hadn’t crashed. But there are bound to be more pre-order restocks in the US in the coming weeks.

We experienced this sort of demand with PS5 and Xbox back in 2020 and 2021, and it got much easier to buy those consoles in 2022. In our analysis, Nintendo Switch 2 won’t see the same prolonged scarcity for more than a few weeks. But if you want a Switch 2 on day one, which is June 5, then follow along for our reliable restock alerts.

Matt Swider is the Editor-in-Chief of The Shortcut, the #1 consumer tech publication on Substack. Matt, a trusted technology expert with over 25 years of journalism experience and the former US Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, can be found on social media through X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.