Mojang opened pre-orders for Minecraft on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 7 and published the upgrade terms for players who already own the game on Switch. Owners of a digital copy can claim the digital Standard Edition for Switch 2 free until the end of January 2027 in most territories. New buyers pay $29.99, or $39.99 and $49.99 for the two larger collections. The game launches on October 27.

The announcement is credited to Silva Kuusniemi. It appears on Minecraft's own news page, dated 10/7/26, and the same text appears on Nintendo's news page under the same date.

What the free upgrade covers

The free path is limited to players who own a digital version of Minecraft for Nintendo Switch. They can pre-order the digital Minecraft Standard Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 at no cost until the end of January 2027, and Mojang also offers them the Deluxe Collection and the Ultimate Collection at discounted fees.

Three conditions attach to the offer: it is time limited, it is available only through Nintendo eShop, and it applies in most territories rather than all of them. The footnote behind that last phrase names the exceptions.

Every version of the release includes the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, so the free Standard copy carries that pack as well. What separates the editions is the add-ons, the Character Creator items and the Minecoins, and those stay behind a paid upgrade even for existing digital owners, because the free path lands on the Standard Edition.

Concept diagram of a generic digital-copy card passing through an ESHOP ONLY gateway, under an hourglass, to a blank Standard Edition card.
Concept illustration of the eShop-only, time-limited path for eligible digital Switch owners. Mojang says the free Standard offer is available in most territories; Japan and Taiwan pay 100 JPY and 30 NTD respectively.

Japan and Taiwan pay a small fee

Japanese players pay 100 JPY for the upgrade and Taiwanese players pay 30 NTD, according to the footnote. Mojang names no other exceptions and does not explain why those two markets are treated differently.

The wording creates a second question. Mojang describes the free copy as a pre-order even though the window it gives runs to the end of January 2027, three months past the October 27 launch. The announcement does not say whether the free copy has to be claimed before launch or can be claimed at any point inside the window.

What each paid edition contains

Nintendo's news page lists regular prices of $29.99 for Minecraft, $39.99 for the Deluxe Collection and $49.99 for the Ultimate Collection.

All three digital versions include the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack with Vibrant Visuals. Deluxe adds three add-ons, Celebration Food, Rescue Dogs and Plenty O'Blocks, along with three exclusive Character Creator items and 700 Minecoins. Ultimate adds five add-ons, the three above plus Decocraft and Weapons + Tools, with five exclusive Character Creator items and 1,000 Minecoins. A physical version is also on pre-order at retail.

Stacked up, each step in the lineup adds a fixed bundle. Deluxe costs $10 more than Standard for three add-ons, three Character Creator items and 700 Minecoins, and Ultimate costs $10 more than Deluxe for two more add-ons, two more Character Creator items and 300 more Minecoins.

What changes on the new console

Mojang's earlier announcement, published on August 5, describes the Switch 2 release as the version where Vibrant Visuals is the default visual experience, bringing enhanced lighting and shadow effects. The Super Mario Mash-Up Pack has been updated for those visuals, and Mojang says the visuals extend across supported Minecraft Marketplace content on the console.

The pack itself stays exclusive to Nintendo versions of the game. It includes a Mario-themed world, music and skins, with locations such as Peach's castle and Delfino Plaza.

Nintendo Switch 2 gets its own release rather than a patch to the existing version, which is why Mojang frames the run-up as pre-orders plus an upgrade path for the copy already owned.

The fine print on visuals and Minecoins

Two footnotes limit the package. Vibrant Visuals is not available in some gameplay, including split-screen and when using certain Marketplace Worlds and content. The second covers currency: included Minecoins, and any Minecoins purchased in Minecraft on a Nintendo device, must be used inside the Nintendo ecosystem, and the footnote does not say whether a balance bought on another platform can be spent on the Switch 2 version.

What carries over, and what is still unclear

World carry-over is the detail existing players have been waiting for. The summary of Mojang's August release-date article states that existing Nintendo Switch players can carry over their worlds, and the same article says the digital upgrade path will be detailed later. The October pre-order post does not repeat the world carry-over statement and does not describe how a world moves between the two consoles.

Four questions stay open in the October post. It describes the free offer for owners of a digital version, which leaves players who bought the game on a physical Switch cartridge outside its wording. It gives no price for the physical Switch 2 release. It does not say whether the free Standard copy includes Minecoins. And it does not publish the discounted fees that digital Switch owners would pay for the Deluxe or Ultimate collections.

Dates to hold

Pre-orders opened on October 7. Minecraft launches on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27. The free upgrade window closes at the end of January 2027, which a thread on the Nintendo Switch subreddit rendered as January 31, 2027. That thread drew 1,715 votes and 253 comments on the day the announcement appeared, and its framing of the deadline is a player reading rather than Mojang's wording.