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The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date and time is this week, Thursday, April 24, at midnight for at least two stores in the United States. You’ll be able to order the console, games and accessories from Walmart and Target at the following times:
April 24 at 12 am ET
April 23 at 11pm CT
April 23 at 10pm MT
April 23 at 9pm PT
Walmart is prepared to sell a lot of Switch 2 pre-orders, according to retail sources who spoke to The Shortcut. Last week, we confirmed Walmart's pre-order time. It sounds like Walmart is ensuring this Nintendo console isn’t a frustrating experience for its consumers, unlike every time PS5 was restocked in the US.
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Walmart: 12 am ET/9 pm PT: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Target: 12 am ET/9 pm PT: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
GameStop: 11 am ET/8 am PT Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Best Buy: Unknown time Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Sam’s Club: Unknown time Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle
Besides Walmart and Target, GameStop is the only confirmed retailer announcing a Switch pre-order time. GameStop is waiting for 11 am ET for its online orders, while GameStop stores will sell in-store reservations when they normally open. Thankfully, you won’t need to be a GameStop Pro member to secure a Switch 2 console.
How many consoles will GameStop stores get? They won’t know until the end of the night on April 23. A piece of paper will be posted on the glass door outside of each retail shop indicating how many consoles they’ll have in stock the next morning.
Best Buy and Sam’s Club haven’t announced exactly when their pre-orders will be up for grabs. Best Buy has told us April 24. It could be at midnight or late in the morning (which it sometimes favored doing during past console launches). Not announcing a pre-order time is typical of Best Buy.
Amazon hasn’t given us any information, and it’s not expected to sell the console. Its on-again-off-again relationship with Nintendo in the US has meant that it’s not selling Nintendo console hardware at the moment. We’ll update this news story if things change by April 24.
June 5, 2025, is the Nintendo Switch 2 release date, and you’ll be able to get the console at midnight, depending on where you shop.
Best Buy boasted that many of its stores would be open at 12:01 am local time on the Switch 2 release date. That way, gamers will be able to claim their Nintendo console and play Mario Kart World all night long.
This edges out Walmart, which says it can deliver your new console by 9 am local time if you pre-order, although with Best Buy, you’ll have to pick it up in the middle of the night to get it that early.
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English (US) ·