Analysts predict a price hike for the Switch 2

With a RAM crisis steadily increasing on the horizon and global market volatility leading to rippling economic effects across consumer sectors, gaming fans who have been on the fence about the path to a Nintendo Switch 2 console may want to pull the trigger, as the latest financial predictions expect a price hike on Nintendo's latest hardware to come sometime in 2026. The Nintendo Switch 2 will celebrate its one-year anniversary on June 5, but if early marketing analysis is any indication, the party may be less than happy for those looking to finally bring home the console in the coming months.

There was already a lot of hype around the launch price of the Nintendo Switch 2, which many felt was too high for the hardware capabilities, especially compared to competitors like the PlayStation and Xbox. However, the portability of the Switch 2 and Nintendo's powerful first-party IPs, which it has long kept locked to its own console releases, helped play massively in the Switch 2's favor, making it the fastest-selling video game console of all time. While early sales of the Switch 2 have maintained fairly steady momentum, broader changes in the tech market and political influences on economic trends could prove a daunting obstacle for the Switch 2, especially if key factors force Nintendo's hand on a price hike.

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Nintendo is reportedly ramping up production of the Switch 2

Just months after launch, Switch 2 sales have soared past major milestones, with Nintendo reportedly ramping up console production.

Will Nintendo Switch 2 be more expensive in 2026?

Trusted market data and consumer insights firm Niko Partners released its business forecasts for 2026, which included a rather dire expectation that the Nintendo Switch 2 would see a price increase in response to “the impact of tariffs, increased memory costs and broader macroeconomic conditions.” Niko Partners acknowledged that Nintendo previously chose to maintain its entry price of $449 throughout 2025, but the company predicts increased demand from AI data centers to drive the cost of RAM and storage even higher, which could leave Nintendo with little choice in the matter. Alternatively, Niko Partners believes that Nintendo may choose to simply discontinue the $449 Switch 2 console and instead postpone the $499 bundle with a digital edition of Mario Kart Worldalthough the latter option may also suffer from limited availability and a price increase down the road.

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It's worth noting that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has addressed the issue of rising RAM costs, saying there would be no immediate Nintendo Switch 2 price hikes, though he avoided mentioning the long-term effects of the RAM issues. For those unfamiliar, Micron Technology, one of the three major consumer RAM manufacturers, announced in 2025 that it would end direct sales of consumer RAM and SSDs, choosing instead to focus on manufacturing for and sales to artificial intelligence data centers and enterprises. This means that supply will decrease while demand remains high, leading to even higher costs. For video game consoles and computers that rely on this hardware, these costs will either have to be eaten by the companies themselves, like Nintendo, or passed on to consumers, which Niko Partners predicts is inevitable.

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Gamers have already seen the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 hit with price hikes, and while Nintendo has managed to hold a stable Switch 2 price for now, it wouldn't be unexpected to see the Japanese powerhouse bow to broader economic and technological forces in the near future. As it says, it Nintendo Switch 2 is still available at the $449 price point, and with rumors of the $499 bundle being cut, now might be the best time to get your hands on a Switch 2 before consumer-facing price hikes rear their ugly, expensive heads.