Nintendo is launching the Switch 2 is less than two months, but odds are slim that you’ll be able to just walk into a store and ask for one in the first few weeks and maybe even months after it releases. Instead, your best bet is to lock in a preorder directly from Nintendo or through big stores like Walmart and Best Buy. But when and how? Here’s everything you need to know.

The Switch 2 is $450 and comes out June 5. There’s also a $500 bundle that includes Mario Kart World, which will normally be priced at $80, at a decent discount. Preorders will not only secure your console the day it comes out but also let you grab it early at certain stores that are doing midnight launches. And while a trade war briefly turned things upside down, Nintendo has decided to stick with the Switch 2's current pricing and instead raise the prices of all of the accessories, including the Pro Controller and camera, by $5.

When do Switch 2 preorders go live?

After they were originally supposed to begin on April 9, Nintendo announced earlier this month that preorders for the Switch 2 would instead start on April 24 in the U.S. And some retailers, like Walmart, will actually start conducting Switch 2 preorders online starting at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Where can I preorder the Switch 2?

So far, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and Target have all confirmed they’ll have preorders available on April 24. They’ll be available at GameStop in-person when stores open and online starting at 11:00 a.m. ET. Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, meanwhile, have all confirmed online preorders for the Switch 2 will start at midnight on April 24.

How to improve your odds of getting a Switch 2 preorder

It’s impossible to predict how much demand will or won’t outstrip supply when the Switch 2 launches, but preorders are likely to be even more limited than launch-day stock and the option to cancel or try to resell them means they will almost certainly sell out. However, there are some pretty standard things you can do to help improve your chances of being one of the lucky people who gets their preorder locked in before all of the online retailer checkout webpages crash. Those include:

1. Have each store’s Switch 2 preorder page opened simultaneously, ideally on different browser instances or, even better, different devices
2. Make sure you’re already logged in to your store account
3. Have your credit card and shipping info pre-loaded or ready to go
4. Be ready to start refreshing tabs at midnight until you’re queued
5. Try to secure a preorder from more than one store in case one of them sells more preorders than they have stock for (an issue I’ve had with Walmart in the past)
6. Make an offering of spicy Italian meatballs and bright yellow bananas to the gaming gods for good luck

Can I preorder the Switch 2 from Nintendo too?

Like other console manufacturers, Nintendo is also selling some Switch 2 stock direct to its fans, though the process is a bit convoluted and will have people waiting until well into May. Back when the Switch 2 Direct aired on April 2, Nintendo let players “register” their interest in the new console with invites going out on a case-by-case basis to those who have at least 50 hours of play time and over 12 months of Switch Online, including an active membership at the time of preordering (you’ll also have to have opted into sharing your gameplay data in your Nintendo account’s privacy settings).

Those who are chosen this method will get an email directly from Nintendo on or after May 8 and have just 72 hours to accept the preorder offer for whatever they selected back when registering. It’s a good idea to do that too, even if you’re also getting a retail preorder, in case one of them ends up falling through, or a close friend or family member ends up missing out.

Is Amazon doing Switch 2 preorders?

Weirdly, no one knows what’s going on with Amazon and the Switch 2 right now. The online seller hasn’t announced any information about Switch 2 preorders and doesn’t even have store listings for it or the console’s first-party games like Mario Kart World. Maybe Amazon is just waiting until April 24 hits to put all of those pages live, or maybe Nintendo has cut Amazon out of the preorder process following a few years now of some weird behavior between the two companies. Either way, it’s safe to assume that you won’t be able to preorder the Switch 2 from Amazon, at least not yet, but also it’s worth double-checking on April 24.

Where should I buy a Switch 2 from?

Good question! The short answer is: wherever you manage to secure a preorder from. The somewhat more complicated answer depends on things like existing memberships and midnight launch plans. Select Walmart, Best Buy, and GameStop stores will be open at midnight on June 5 so if you want to get your Switch 2 as soon as possible, you’ll want to preorder from one of those places.

Best Buy is also running a special promotion for My Best Buy Total  subscribers who can get a $20 certificate for every $150 they spend on games and accessories, so if you are already a member and/or are planning to load up on extra controllers or games, that might be the way to go. Alternatively, GameStop is currently offering people up to $175 in store credit toward their Switch 2 purchase when they trade in their current Switch consoles (the company is also giving a bonkers amount for Xbox Series X trade-ins through April 26).

And that’s pretty much it. Console launches tend to be a bit of a mess in the modern era. Hopefully, Switch 2 preorders don’t turn into a debacle like last year’s PlayStation 5 30th anniversary set did and we’re not in for another pandemic-fueled next-gen shortage like 2020. The last thing anyone wants is for eBay to be full of Switch 2 listings while social media is flooded with fans who missed out.

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