Nintendo has confirmed its plans to continue selling Switch 1, after yesterday announcing that sales would be suspended in Europe.
In Europe, fresh versions of the Switch 2 and its various controllers will be rolled out from this fall onwards, now with user-replaceable batteries to comply with EU legislation. But Nintendo will not be updating its aging Switch 1 hardware — and instead will simply remove it from sale in mid-February next year.
Nintendo's messaging — including a line which implied Switch 1 may no longer be manufactured — raised questions whether the company was quietly eyeing spring 2027 to retire Switch 1 globally, not just in Europe. After all, the console will have been on sale for 10 years, while Switch 2 will be approaching its second birthday.
But in a fresh statement to IGN this morning, Nintendo confirmed that it currently planned to continue Switch 1 sales elsewhere, such as in North America and in the company's homeland of Japan, regardless of the situation in Europe.
"We plan to continue selling Nintendo Switch in regions outside of Nintendo of Europe," Nintendo told IGN.
Yesterday, a Nintendo of Europe statement indicated that customers would have no issue purchasing Switch 1 throughout 2026, if fans still wished to purchase the console before it was removed from sale. Despite the Switch 2's launch, the platform is still receiving new games (such as this month's Rhythm Heaven Groove) and, of course, offers a more affordable option for console gaming than its successor.
"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," Nintendo of Europe stated yesterday. "From mid-February 2027, almost 10 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."
So there we go. Europe might have beaten North America in the World Cup, but its Switch 1 loss won't impact elsewhere.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
