New Switch 2 pre-order date leaks from U.S. retailers

The internet is ablaze with theories and rumors then the new Switch 2 pre-order date will land, but another far better and more reliable date has now surfaced. Yesterday April 30 was spotted hidden within some Target wishlist data, and then an April 23 date in Canada surfaced suggesting we could see the same in the U.S., but now a reliable leaker is targeting a third date.

New Switch 2 pre-order date leaks

Nintendo has still yet to officially confirm when the Switch 2 pre-order date will go live in the U.S. (or Canada) – let’s us at least get that straight first off. It initially targeted April 9 as the go date, before it decided newly announced Trump levies needed further consideration before it began taking pre-orders in the U.S. Nearly a week later, Nintendo also delayed pre-orders north of the border in Canada, specifically stating that it wants the Canadian pre-orders to lineup with those in the U.S. – this is significant for a reason, let’s dig in.

Early yesterday morning, folks spotted a pre-order date hidden within the Target wishlist backend that said pre-orders will go live on April 30 at midnight. This date was widely believed to be some sort of a placeholder and reports have surfaced suggesting it has since been removed from Target’s API.

After that billbil-kun – an internet gaming sleuth with a particular reliable track record that often knows the PS+ games before they are announced, for example – posted saying the Canadian Switch 2 preorder date appears to be April 23, as per details they uncovered from various retailers.

Fast forward to early this morning, and billbil-kun has now taken to X to offer up some details specific to the U.S., saying “some US retailers, I’ve found conflicting data for pre-order start date of NS2 Hardware.”

They said Switch 2 consoles will go up on April 21 or April 30 “depending on the retailer” and, for accessories “like Switch 2 Pro controller,” the date they are seeing is April 30.

This weeklong data does not seem to be what Nintendo had in mind with the original April 9 start time, and it directly conflicts with the information billbil-kun detailed yesterday with an April 23 start time in Canada.

At this point, with the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff situation – the thing Nintendo specifically cited as the reason for the set back – everything is up in the air. Perhaps Nintendo has now been forced to or has decided to roll out Switch 2 pre-orders across next week as opposed to having everything landing on the same day. Perhaps when Nintendo said it wanted the Canadian pre-orders to fall in-line with the U.S. it really just meant it does not want Canadian pre-orders to go live before they do in its biggest market, and not specifically on the same day.

Another curious part of this is the “April 21 or April 30” mention. Some folks have incorrectly stated this finding as April 21 and April 30, but billbil-kun did specifically say “or.”

Does this mean they are seeing what was believed to be an April 30 placeholder and that Nintendo is actually planning to begin taking Switch 2 pre-orders on Monday, April 21? That’s Easter Monday here in the U.S.

Only time will tell now, but the original April 23 date felt more, well, Nintendo. It initially planned a Wednesday/mid-week go time, and that just felt right, but the Monday thing feels, well….it doesn’t matter really let’s-just-a-go here Nintendo!