Bye Switch: Nintendo announces end of console in Europe
Due to new EU regulations on replaceable batteries, Nintendo is redesigning its hardware. The original Switch is particularly affected: From February 2027, it will disappear from European shelves.
Nintendo is letting the Switch die – at least in Europe. In an updated FAQ, the company confirmed that all Switch variants will no longer be sold from mid-February 2027. This affects the standard Switch, the Lite, and the OLED model. This marks the end of the console's career in Europe after almost ten years. It was launched in March 2017.
More weight, less capacity
The background is a new EU regulation. From February 18, 2027, this regulation stipulates that you must be able to replace batteries in devices yourself.
Nintendo is responding by gradually introducing revised versions of its products starting in the autumn. The Switch 2 is first, which will then come with a replaceable battery. This battery, at 5172 mAh, is about one percent smaller than the permanently installed battery in the current model. The associated Joy-Cons also feature replaceable batteries. Here, the capacity remains the same. The replaceable battery comes at a price: the Switch 2 itself will be ten grams heavier, and the Joy-Cons will each weigh two grams more. The latter will also be available separately from winter.
Also in the cold season, the Switch 2 Pro Controller will arrive with a replaceable battery. This is significantly smaller, by 16 percent, than the current version. However, it weighs about seven grams less. Furthermore, the original Joy-Cons as well as the N64 and Gamecube controllers for the Switch will receive corresponding re-releases. According to Nintendo, nothing will change functionally in any product.
End of an era
For you as a fan of the original Switch, this means the end of an era. Outside of Europe, the Switch is still expected to be sold. It's not quite obsolete yet: new first-party titles such as Rhythm Paradise Groove and Tomodachi Life: Where Dreams Come True were only recently released.
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