Switch 2 Europe Update Due This Fall Adds User-Swappable Batteries, Extra Weight

Nintendo’s next-generation Switch 2 hardware lineup is getting a Europe-focused hardware refresh this fall, driven by new European Union requirements that push battery serviceability onto the user. The updated model will include user-replaceable batteries, though that change comes with a small weight increase.

Earlier reporting pointed to Nintendo preparing adjustments to its Switch 2 console and several accessories ahead of fresh EU rules. Those regulations specifically require that batteries in electrical products be designed so they can be swapped out by users, rather than forcing repairs to happen through the manufacturer or replacement of the entire device.

The goal is straightforward: make maintenance easier and help devices last longer, instead of encouraging players to buy a replacement controller or ship hardware back to Nintendo for fixes. For example, the company says this approach can reduce situations where a whole controller needs to be replaced just because a battery needs attention.

Switch 1 Joy-Con will be the first product to receive this user-replaceable battery update, rolling out starting this summer. For this initial Joy-Con revision, Nintendo is not changing battery capacity or weight.

Switch 2 models sold in Europe from this fall onward will be different. Nintendo will include a new replaceable battery that’s slightly smaller—about 1% less—inside both the console and the attached Joy-Con 2 controllers. As a result, the console’s weight will rise from 534 grams to 548 grams when Joy-Con are attached (and from 401 grams to 411 grams when they’re not).

Individual Joy-Con 2 units sold separately in Europe starting this winter will also move to replaceable batteries. The same update applies to new Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controllers, with Nintendo stating the battery size will shrink by 16%, while the final controllers end up 7 grams lighter.

Nintendo is also adjusting retro-style accessory controllers tied to older Nintendo systems. Controllers available starting in early 2027 will be reworked so that the Switch N64 controller becomes 1 gram heavier, and the Switch 2 GameCube controller becomes 5 grams heavier.

Interestingly, Nintendo is not planning to introduce a new Switch 1 model for Europe. Instead, the company will simply stop selling the older hardware version in the region as it phases out the aging model.

What Nintendo says is changing in Europe

• Switch 1 Joy-Con get user-replaceable batteries starting this summer, with no battery capacity or weight change.
• Switch 2 models sold from this fall include a user-replaceable battery that is 1% smaller, increasing overall weight slightly.
  • With controllers attached: 534g → 548g
  • Without controllers attached: 401g → 411g
• Joy-Con 2 sold individually from this winter onward will also include replaceable batteries.
• New Switch 2 Pro Controllers will use a replaceable battery, with a 16% smaller battery size and a 7g lighter controller.
• Retro console controllers from early 2027 will be adjusted:
  • Switch N64 controller: +1g
  • Switch 2 GameCube controller: +5g

How to get battery replacement support in Europe

Nintendo says battery replacement kits for each updated product will be sold later through the Nintendo Store in Europe.

1. Starting summer 2026, Nintendo will begin rolling out revised versions of selected products in Europe that include a user-replaceable battery.
2. These revisions are being prepared for EU battery regulation changes expected to take effect in mid-February 2027.
3. Nintendo expects the first revised products to be available from summer 2026.
4. Additional revised products are expected to arrive across autumn, winter, and early 2027.
5. Availability may vary by country, meaning not every European region will see the revised stock at the same time.

Will revised products work differently?

Nintendo also states that there is no difference in functionality between current products and the revised versions that include user-replaceable batteries.

The company adds that revised items may not launch simultaneously across all European countries due to a variety of factors, even though the overall rollout window stretches from summer 2026 through early 2027.

Nintendo already sells a Japanese language-only Switch 2 inside Japan at a lower price compared to the cost of the system overseas. That console is region-locked for playing Japanese games and accessing the Japanese version of the eShop, but it is otherwise the same in terms of form factor.