The Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition release date is Thursday 12 November 2026, on Nintendo Switch 2 only. If you already own Pikmin 4 on Switch, the Upgrade Pack costs $9.99 and can be pre-ordered now. New players can buy the full Switch 2 Edition, which is $69.99 as a physical copy on the US Nintendo Store. The US digital price is not listed yet.
We do not sell Pikmin 4 itself, but both versions are paid for with eShop funds, and a Nintendo $10 US eShop card covers the Upgrade Pack on its own. Here is which version to get, what it costs in five countries, and what the new Dandori Academy mode actually is.
Upgrade Pack or full Switch 2 Edition?
Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition release date
Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy comes out on Thursday 12 November 2026, physically and digitally. Nintendo announced it in the Nintendo Direct of 9 September 2026. The US store shows “Releases 11/12/26” on both the full edition and the Upgrade Pack, and the UK Nintendo page shows 12/11/2026. Nintendo has not published an unlock time: the date in its store data has no time attached. It is the same 12 November launch day as Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2.
Pikmin 4 Switch 2 upgrade pack price by country
| eShop | Upgrade Pack | Switch 2 Edition (digital) | Pikmin 4 for Switch |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $9.99 | Not listed yet | $59.99 |
| Canada | CA$14.99 | Not listed yet | CA$84.99 |
| United Kingdom | £7.99 | £58.99 | — |
| Germany / France (euro) | €9.99 | €69.99 | — |
| Australia | A$20.00 | A$99.95 | — |
The listing says a pre-order “lets you pre-load the game, so you’ll be able to play as soon as the game is released”, and that the content “requires the following to play: Pikmin 4”. On the full Switch 2 Edition page, the US digital version showed “Regular Price:” with no figure next to it when we checked, so do not trust a US digital price you see quoted elsewhere until Nintendo lists one.
Does upgrading cost less than buying new?
Not if you are starting from nothing. In the US, Pikmin 4 for Switch is still $59.99, so the game plus the $9.99 Upgrade Pack comes to $69.98, one cent less than the $69.99 physical Switch 2 Edition. In the UK the full digital Switch 2 Edition is £58.99. The Upgrade Pack is only the cheap route if you already own Pikmin 4, which Nintendo released on 21 July 2023. In that case it is $9.99 for everything the new edition adds.
What the physical edition contains
Nintendo’s Switch 2 FAQ says physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games include the Nintendo Switch game and its upgrade pack on the same game card. The UK product page adds that if the card is put into an original Switch, you play the Switch version without the Switch 2 Edition features. The US Nintendo Store lists the physical Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition at $69.99, shipping from 12 November.
“From our checks: on 27 October we opened the US store pages for the Switch 2 Edition, the Upgrade Pack and the original game, then pulled Nintendo’s price data for five countries. The $9.99 Upgrade Pack was already on pre-order everywhere. The full digital edition had a price in the UK, the euro area and Australia, but none yet in the US or Canada.”
— Rayyan Omar, Games editor, Virtwave
What the Switch 2 Edition adds
The story, areas and Pikmin types are the Pikmin 4 you know. Nintendo lists four additions: enhanced resolution up to 4K in TV mode, the Dandori Academy mode, voice commands for Oatchi, and GameShare for Dandori Battles. The store description also lists the Relaxed and Fierce Creature Activity Levels and Decor Pikmin; VGC notes that Decor Pikmin and Photo Mode reached the Switch version in a free update last year.
Dandori Academy
- Timed challenges: collect as much treasure as you can within a stage, as fast as you can.
- Exams run every week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can practise a stage as often as you like, but you can sit each week’s exam only once.
- Exam results earn medals, which unlock rewards such as user icons. VGC’s report of the Direct adds online leaderboards and three difficulty levels.
- 72 stages arrive over time, six a month, with easier stages for beginners. At six a month, the full set takes a year to arrive.
Oatchi voice commands and GameShare
Using the Switch 2’s built-in microphone, you can give Oatchi nine different voice commands, such as gathering Pikmin or carrying treasure, and praise him when he gets it right. Dandori Battles, the head-to-head mode from the main game, now works over GameShare: you can play a friend locally or online through GameChat even if they do not own the game. Playing online needs a Nintendo Switch Online membership, which also covers Save Data Cloud for this game.
Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition questions
When does the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition come out?
How much is the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 upgrade pack?
Is the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition free for owners of Pikmin 4?
How much is the full Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition?
Does my Pikmin 4 save carry over to the Switch 2 Edition?
What is Dandori Academy in Pikmin 4?
Download size and your Switch save
| Download | Bytes | Shown as |
|---|---|---|
| Switch 2 Edition (full, estimate) | 13,736,345,600 | 12.8 GB |
| Upgrade Pack (estimate) | 1,258,291,200 | 1.2 GB |
| Pikmin 4 for Switch (current) | 12,086,935,552 | 11.3 GB |
So an existing owner downloads about 1.2 GB more, while a new player needs roughly 12.8 GB free. The UK product page shows 11.3 GB for the Switch 2 Edition, the same figure as the current Switch game. We read that as Nintendo UK showing the base game size, and the US 12.8 GB estimate as the full Switch 2 install. If you are juggling other November games, our Switch 2 storage calculator shows whether everything fits in your free space.
On saves, Nintendo’s Switch 2 FAQ says data from the Switch versions of Switch 2 Edition games can be carried over to Switch 2 and used in the new edition. Nintendo has not published a Pikmin-specific note on whether progress can go back to an original Switch after you play the Switch 2 Edition.
Rayyan covers console and PC gaming wallets for Virtwave, with deep specialism in PlayStation Network, Xbox, Razer Gold and Steam. He has been writing about digital gaming commerce since 2020.
Paying with a Nintendo eShop card
The Upgrade Pack and the digital edition are paid for with eShop funds, and eShop cards only work in the country they were issued for. In our store, a Nintendo $10 US card covers the $9.99 Upgrade Pack, a Nintendo CA$20 card covers the CA$14.99 Canadian price, a Nintendo £15 UK card covers £7.99, and a Nintendo €15 Europe card covers €9.99. For the full edition, the Nintendo $50 US card plus a $20 card covers $69.99. Our eShop card redeem guide walks through adding the code, and the Nintendo Switch Online guide covers the membership you need for online Dandori Battles.
Also out on Switch 2 this autumn: Metaphor: ReFantazio (same day, 12 November), Zelda: Ocarina of Time (5 November) and Monster Hunter Wilds (4 December).
| What you want | Price | Cards that cover it | Left over (before tax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrade Pack (US) | $9.99 | $10 | $0.01 |
| Upgrade Pack (Canada) | CA$14.99 | CA$20 | CA$5.01 |
| Upgrade Pack (UK) | £7.99 | £15 | £7.01 |
| Upgrade Pack (euro area) | €9.99 | €15 | €5.01 |
| Pikmin 4 + Upgrade Pack (US, new player) | $69.98 | $50 + $20 | $0.02 |
Sources & how we checked this
We read every date, price and size on 27 October 2026, between 03:00 and 04:00 UTC. We opened the US Nintendo Store pages in a browser and read their page data, pulled Nintendo’s public eShop price data for the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Australia, and read the UK product page. Anything we did not see ourselves is attributed in the text.
- Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy (Nintendo US store: release date, features, estimated size, physical price, play modes)
- Pikmin 4 Upgrade Pack (Nintendo US store: $9.99, pre-order, requirements)
- Pikmin 4 for Nintendo Switch (Nintendo US store: $59.99, released 21 July 2023)
- Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy (Nintendo UK: Dandori Academy rules, voice commands, 4K, download size, PEGI 3)
- Nintendo Direct recap, 9 September 2026 (Nintendo of America: announcement, 12 November date, Upgrade Pack pre-orders)
- Nintendo Switch 2 FAQ (physical Switch 2 Editions, save data)
- Pikmin 4 is getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (VGC, 9 September 2026: leaderboards, three difficulty levels)
How we write these guides: our editorial policy. We will update this page at launch with the US digital price, the final download size and the first Dandori Academy stages.
