Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Evergreens

Where and when you can play the Switch 2 before release

Add as a preferred source on Google
Mario Kart running on a Switch 2.
Nintendo

Nothing is more exciting than a new console, and the Switch 2 might be the most highly anticipated system yet. Nintendo finally made an official announcement on January 16 with a glimpse at the new hardware and promised to deliver more information in April. While it didn’t give us that all-important release date as we hoped, it did fill us in on some important details like if it is backwards compatible. But what is most exciting is that Nintendo is letting consumers go hands-on with the new system long before release. You have to be in the right place at the right time to be one of the first to play a Switch 2. These are all the locations and dates for the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience.

Nintendo Switch 2 Experience dates and locations

The Switch 2 on a blue background.
Nintendo

Nintendo will be visiting multiple major cities around the world to give players a chance to play the Switch 2 before launch. While we don’t know what games will be playable just yet, we are confident they will be worth the trip for anyone able to make it. Here is a full list of the announced cities and dates for the Nintendo Switch Experience. The only details we don’t know are specific hours, but we will update this article as soon as we learn more.

Recommended Videos

Note that you will need to have a Nintendo Account to participate in the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience, as well as a ticket. Registration for tickets will begin on January 17 at 12 pm P.T and is completely free, but drawn randomly. Visit this site once tickets become available to enter.

North America:

  • New York, April 4-6, 2025
  • Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025
  • Dallas, April 25-27, 2025
  • Toronto, April 25-27, 2025

Europe:

  • Paris, April 4-6, 2025
  • London, April 11-13, 2025
  • Milan, April 25-27, 2025
  • Berlin, April 25-27, 2025
  • Madrid, May 9-11, 2025
  • Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025

Oceania:

  • Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025

Asia:

  • Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025
  • Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025
  • Hong Kong, To be announced
  • Taipei, To be announced
Jesse Lennox
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jesse Lennox covers all things gaming but has a specific interest in all things PlayStation, JRPGs, and experimental indies…
Sony’s new PS5 Prism Collection gives a beautiful retro makeover to your console and controller
The new collection lets you peek inside your PS5 and DualSense controller with a glossy transparent design.
sony-prism-collection-ps5

Remember when transparent gadgets were the coolest things you could own? Sony is bringing that late '90s aesthetic back with its new PS5 Prism Collection. The gorgeous lineup gives your DualSense controller and PS5 console a glossy, see-through makeover in three eye-catching colors.

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2115459064981512662?s=19

Read more
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Stranded mission had me hooked for hours, yet left me wanting more
I spent hours sneaking through North Korea, scavenging supplies, and clearing outposts, and I’d happily do it all again.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Stranded mission gameplay

For years, Call of Duty’s campaign mode has used big, scripted set pieces to tell the overarching story amid all the adrenaline-pumping action. The 2023 Modern Warfare 3 tried to shake up the established formula by introducing a handful of short open combat missions, and I genuinely liked the idea, but the game's overall negative reception seeped into how those missions were received.

I feared the next iteration might abandon the idea because of the backlash, but I am glad it didn't. MW4’s “Stranded” mission uses the same approach, but instead of fragmenting it across the campaign, it puts it all in a single large-scale open-world mission.

Read more
The $1300 Acer Predator Atlas 8 handheld is finally US-bound, and its pre-orders are already sold out
Acer’s first gaming handheld to launch in the US arrives November 1 with Intel Arc G3 Extreme hardware.
Intel Arc G3 Extreme Hands On with Acer Predator Atlas 8

Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.

Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.

Read more