Nintendo will stop selling Switch consoles in Europe and some other markets in February 2027, weeks shy of the system’s 10th anniversary. The company says it will continue to make the Switch, Switch Lite and Switch — OLED Model throughout 2026 and notes those variants “should be widely available in Europe all year.” However, it will no longer sell the devices to retailers or through the Nintendo Store in certain markets as of early 2027.
It’s unclear whether these changes will apply globally. Engadget has contacted Nintendo to clarify. However, it may make sense for the company to stop making and selling Switch 1 systems entirely soon amid rising manufacturing costs and the transition to Switch 2.
Nintendo is ending Switch sales in Europe to comply with new European Union rules that stipulate certain devices must make it easy for users to replace the battery. To that end, the company will phase out some existing versions of products in favor of ones that have user-replaceable batteries, including the Switch 2. It will start selling a version of its current console with a swappable battery in select markets as soon as this fall.
This revised Switch 2 will have a slightly smaller battery capacity than the current version at 5172mAh versus 5220mAh, which is a reduction of about 1 percent. The system will be around 10g (0.4oz) heavier than the current model, with each Joy-Con 2 adding an extra 2g or so, bringing the total weight to approximately 548g (19.3oz).
Joy-Cons with swappable batteries will start hitting shelves as early as this summer, followed by Joy-Con 2 controllers this winter, as well as the Switch 2 Pro Controller, Nintendo 64 controller for Switch and GameCube controller for Switch 2. Nintendo notes that the timelines could slip depending on factors such as manufacturing and distribution. Some peripherals won’t be replaced with versions that have swappable batteries. As such, Nintendo will be phasing out the Switch Pro Controller, Sega Mega Drive and SNES controllers for Switch and Pokémon Go Plus+.
The company says these changes will apply to markets that Nintendo of Europe serves. Those are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
