If you bought Minecraft digitally on the original Switch, you don’t pay anything for Minecraft for Nintendo Switch 2. Claim the free Standard Edition on the eShop before January 31, 2027. If you own the cartridge, you don’t get it free, but you aren’t left out either. Nintendo’s store page says cartridge owners get an in-game offer for the Ultimate Collection at a discount. New players pay $29.99 and up. In Japan and Taiwan, the “free” upgrade costs a token fee. The game comes out Tuesday, October 27.
That’s the short version. The rest of this page covers each case, the dates that matter, and the one thing several sites have wrong.
Find your situation
| You are | What you pay | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Digital owner of Minecraft on Switch 1 | Nothing for the Standard Edition. Deluxe and Ultimate are discounted. | Claim it on the eShop by January 31, 2027. |
| Cartridge owner of Minecraft on Switch 1 | No free copy. You can get the Ultimate Collection at an unannounced discount, or buy the Standard Edition at $29.99. | After October 27, start your cartridge version on a Switch 2 and wait for the offer. |
| New to Minecraft on Nintendo | $29.99, $39.99 or $49.99 | Buy the Standard Edition unless you know you’ll spend Minecoins. |
| Digital owner in Japan or Taiwan | 100 yen or 30 NT$ for the Standard Edition | Same as other digital owners, with a small charge. |
Not sure which copy you own? If Minecraft starts on your Switch without a cartridge in the slot, you own it digitally.
Prices are from Nintendo’s US store as of October 24, 2026. The fees in Japan and Taiwan come from Mojang’s and Nintendo’s October 7 announcements.
If you own Minecraft digitally on Switch 1
This one is easy. Mojang’s October 7 post says digital owners can pre-order the digital Standard Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 free “until the end of January 2027.” Nintendo’s store page puts the cutoff at January 31, 2027. You can also move up to the Deluxe Collection or Ultimate Collection for a discounted fee. Neither company lists those discounted prices on its announcement pages, so you’ll see them on the eShop.
The offer only works through the Nintendo eShop. That matters if you were planning to pick up a boxed copy as a gift for yourself. A boxed copy won’t count toward the upgrade, and you’d be paying for something you can get free.
My advice is to claim it now rather than on launch night. Nintendo’s pre-order FAQ says eShop pre-orders pre-load up to seven days before release. Since the launch is only three days away, a pre-order placed today should start downloading straight away. Then the game is on your console when it unlocks.
If you own the cartridge
This is where coverage has gone wrong. GameRant’s October 14 article says cartridge owners “haven’t been offered anything” and will “pay the full $29.99 like a brand-new buyer.” Nintendo’s own store page now says otherwise, so GameRant’s claim is wrong as of today.
Here’s what Nintendo’s listing says. “For all players (including owners of a physical version),” if you start Minecraft for Nintendo Switch on a Switch 2 between October 27, 2026 at 9 a.m. PT and January 31, 2027 at 9 a.m. PT, you’ll get an in-game message offering the digital Ultimate Collection at a discount. That’s 11 a.m. Central on launch day.
What GameRant did get right is that you don’t get a free copy. The discount applies to the $49.99 Ultimate Collection only, and Nintendo hasn’t said how big it is. So the real question for cartridge owners is whether the discounted Ultimate costs less than just buying the $29.99 Standard Edition. Nobody knows yet. If the discount brings the Ultimate close to $30, take it, since you’d get the add-ons and 1,000 Minecoins for about the same money. If it’s a small discount, the Standard Edition is the better deal for most kids who just want to build.
Either way, don’t buy anything before you’ve seen the offer. Keep the old version installed, put the cartridge in your Switch 2 any time after 9 a.m. PT on the 27th, and start the game.
If you’re new to Minecraft on a Nintendo console
Nintendo’s US store lists three digital editions as of October 24, 2026.
- Standard Edition, $29.99. This is the full game, and it includes the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack.
- Deluxe Collection, $39.99. It adds the Celebration Food, Rescue Dogs and Plenty O’Blocks add-ons, three Character Creator items and 700 Minecoins.
- Ultimate Collection, $49.99. It has everything in Deluxe plus the Decocraft and Weapons + Tools add-ons, five Character Creator items in total and 1,000 Minecoins.
Those edition contents come from Mojang’s pre-order post. None of the extras changes survival mode or unlocks anything you can’t build without them. The Standard Edition is the one to get unless someone in your house was going to buy Minecoins anyway. In that case, the coins included in the bigger editions cover part of the price difference.
There’s also a boxed version. Mojang says a physical Switch 2 version is sold in stores, and Nintendo Life and retailer listings describe it as a Game-Key Card. Nintendo’s store page doesn’t say. According to Nintendo Support, a Game-Key Card holds only a “key.” The first time you play, you need internet and enough free space to download the game. After that, the card still has to be in the console every time you play. With a 1.2 GB game, the download isn’t a problem. The real reason to buy the box is if you want something you can resell or move between consoles.
In Japan, Taiwan or Thailand
The free upgrade isn’t quite free everywhere. Mojang’s October 7 post lists fees of 100 JPY in Japan, 30 NTD in Taiwan and 25 THB in Thailand. Nintendo of America’s copy of the same post lists only Japan and Taiwan. If you’re in Thailand, check the price on your eShop before you count on getting it free. For everyone else, including the US, the upgrade costs nothing.
What you get on Switch 2
The main change is Vibrant Visuals, Minecraft’s newer lighting and shadow mode, which is on by default. Mojang adds a catch that matters to families. Vibrant Visuals isn’t available in split-screen or with certain Marketplace worlds and content. So two kids sharing one TV will see the regular look.
According to Nintendo’s listing, the game also supports the touch screen and family-group lending through your Nintendo Account. You still get 1 to 4 players on one console, 2 to 8 players over local wireless, and 2 to 8 players online. Online play needs Nintendo Switch Online, and cross-play with other platforms needs a Microsoft account. Nintendo estimates the file size at 1.2 GB. That’s smaller than the 1.8 GB listed for the Switch 1 version.
Resolution and frame-rate figures will go here as soon as Mojang or Nintendo publishes them.
Your worlds
Mojang’s and Nintendo’s pages don’t yet say whether Switch 1 worlds carry over automatically. Mojang does document one way to move a Bedrock world between devices. You upload it to a Realm from one game and download it in the other. That needs an active Realms subscription or a free trial.
If you have a world you’d be upset to lose, upload it to a Realm before you switch. It’s a few minutes of work, and you’ll know it’s safe. We’ll update this section once Mojang confirms how the move works on launch day.
The Minecoin change on the same day
This one catches people with coins on more than one device. In a September 1 post, Mojang said that from October 27, Minecoins bought in Minecraft on a Switch or Switch 2 can only be spent on Nintendo consoles. Coins bought elsewhere can’t be spent in the Marketplace on Nintendo consoles. Coins you already own move to a “Legacy Wallet,” which doesn’t expire and still works across compatible platforms.
If you’re buying a Minecoin gift card for a Switch player this year, read the platforms on the back. Mojang warns that newer retail cards may not support Nintendo devices.
When it unlocks
The release date is October 27. Neither company has given a time of day. Nintendo’s support page says digital games that are also sold physically “usually” unlock at 9 p.m. PT the night before, which would be 11 p.m. Central on Monday the 26th. But the cartridge-owner offer starts at 9 a.m. PT on the 27th, so some parts of the launch may not go live until Tuesday morning. Plan to play Tuesday. If it’s ready Monday night, that’s a bonus.
A note on the name
Searchers often call this the “Minecraft Switch 2 Edition,” but that isn’t the name. On Nintendo’s support site, a “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” is a Switch 1 game with an upgrade pack that also still runs on Switch 1. This release is native Switch 2 software, and its official name is Minecraft for Nintendo Switch 2. That’s why the upgrade comes as a separate eShop claim and not a patch to your old copy.
FAQ
Is Minecraft for Nintendo Switch 2 free if I already own Minecraft? It’s free if you own it digitally on Switch 1 and claim it on the eShop by January 31, 2027. Japan and Taiwan pay a small fee, and Mojang lists Thailand too.
Do cartridge owners get anything? Yes. Nintendo’s store page says physical owners who start the Switch 1 version on a Switch 2 between October 27 at 9 a.m. PT and January 31, 2027 get an in-game offer for the Ultimate Collection at a discount. It isn’t free, and the discount amount isn’t public.
How much does it cost? On Nintendo’s US store as of October 24, 2026, it’s $29.99 for Standard, $39.99 for the Deluxe Collection and $49.99 for the Ultimate Collection.
Will my old version still work on Switch 2? Yes. Nintendo’s upgrade terms are built around starting the Switch 1 version on a Switch 2, so you don’t lose access to it.
Is the boxed copy a real cartridge? Nintendo Life and retailer listings say it’s a Game-Key Card, which means it downloads the game the first time and needs the card in the console to play. Nintendo’s store page doesn’t confirm this.
Does split-screen get the new visuals? No. Mojang says Vibrant Visuals isn’t available in split-screen.
How big is the download? About 1.2 GB, according to Nintendo’s estimate.
Source log
Researched across 11 official pages and published reports, listed below. Every source was checked on October 24, 2026.
- Nintendo Store, Minecraft for Nintendo Switch 2. Confirms the October 27 release, the $29.99, $39.99 and $49.99 prices, the 1.2 GB size estimate, the player counts, family-group lending, touch screen, cloud saves, the January 31, 2027 deadline and the discount offer for physical owners.
- Minecraft.net, pre-order post, October 7, 2026. Confirms the free Standard Edition for digital owners, the eShop-only rule, what each edition includes, the retail physical version and the fees in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
- Nintendo of America, pre-order post, October 7, 2026. Confirms the same upgrade offer and lists fees for Japan and Taiwan only.
- Minecraft.net, release date post, August 5, 2026. Confirms the October 27 date, Vibrant Visuals as the default and the split-screen limit.
- Minecraft.net, Minecoins for Nintendo, September 1, 2026. Confirms the October 27 Minecoin split, the Legacy Wallet and the warning about newer retail cards.
- Minecraft Help, transferring a world with Realms. Confirms the Realms upload and download steps and that you need a Realms subscription or trial.
- Nintendo Support, playing physical software on Switch 2. Confirms how Game-Key Cards work and what “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” means.
- Nintendo Support, eShop pre-order and pre-load FAQ. Confirms that pre-orders pre-load up to seven days before release.
- Nintendo Support, when new games reach the eShop. Confirms the usual 9 p.m. PT unlock the night before for games also sold physically. It’s a general rule, not a time Nintendo gave for this game.
- Nintendo Life, Minecraft game page. Lists the physical release as a Game-Key Card. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed that.
- GameRant, October 14, 2026. This is the report that says cartridge owners get nothing. We cite it because Nintendo’s store page contradicts it.
Gear for this
- What size microSD Express card you need for Switch 2. Minecraft is only 1.2 GB, so you don’t need a card for this game. You’ll need one when the rest of your library fills the console, and the Switch 2 accepts only microSD Express cards.
