Nintendo to release new Switch 2 in Europe with an “easily replaceable” battery by early next year
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We’re about to reach the first anniversary of the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched on June 5th, 2025. You wouldn’t expect Nintendo to release a new model so soon, but that’s exactly what the company is doing – in order to keep in line with European Union (EU) regulations. A new model for the European market is set to replace the current iteration by early 2027.
The ‘Batteries Regulation’ is all about reducing the environmental impact of wasteful batteries. It notes that from February 18th, 2027, batteries integrated into systems “must be easily replaceable by end users”. The updated regulation confirms that Nintendo is updating its hardware to comply with the EU. This change is set to affect the Switch 2, Joy-Cons, and Pro Controllers.
EU regulations enforce a new Nintendo Switch 2 model
Although the Nintendo Switch 2 is not mentioned by name, Regulation 2023/1542 notes that current Nintendo products with the ‘BEE’ prefix will be compliant with this change by next February. This ‘BEE’ prefix is used for the Switch 2 and its ecosystem – for comparison, the original Switch used the ‘HAC’ prefix.
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It seems the ‘OSM’ prefix mentioned in the regulation refers to the new EU-specific model; this code was spotted early this year, leading to some speculation about what it could be. It’s entirely possible Nintendo kicks off production of the new compliant models earlier than the February 2027 deadline, though we haven’t seen anything to suggest this just yet.
You may have already seen that Nintendo is upping the price of the Switch 2 later this year. These changes indeed include the European market, where the console will jump from €469.99 to €499.99. On the bright side, it’s not an enormous price hike – the Nintendo president explained that the company decided against a higher increase to help maintain sales momentum.
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