Elden Ring hits $80 debate

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition has reopened the Switch 2 price fight after U.S. preorders appeared at $79.99 with no release date attached. (amazon.com) Bandai Namco’s official page says the Switch 2 version arrives in 2026 and bundles the base game, the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, new armor, and new Torrent customization. (bandainamcoent.com) Nintendo set the high end of Switch 2 software pricing in April 2025, when it said Mario Kart World would launch at $79.99 in the United States while Donkey Kong Bananza would launch at $69.99. (nintendo.com) Nintendo’s U.S. Switch 2 store now shows several games at $69.99 and at least one first-party release at $79.99, putting Elden Ring’s listing at the top of the platform’s current price range rather than above it. (nintendo.com) The argument has split along two lines: one side points to a four-year-old game returning at full premium price, while the other points to the included expansion and added content. IGN said the preorder listing confirmed the $79.99 price after the game was announced for Switch 2 last year. (ign.com) A second complaint is about format, not just cost. GameSpot reported that the Switch 2 release is being sold as a Game-Key Card, which means the card acts as a license and download trigger instead of carrying the full game data itself. (gamespot.com) That matters because Elden Ring first launched in February 2022, and Shadow of the Erdtree followed in June 2024, so Switch 2 buyers are weighing a late port against a package that combines both releases. (bandainamcoent.com) For Nintendo and third-party publishers, the bigger test is whether Switch 2 players will keep accepting $79.99 as a standard ceiling for marquee releases. Elden Ring is now the latest game forcing that question before it even has a firm launch day. (nintendo.com)