As long as you know where to look, there’s always a Nintendo Switch game on sale.
Hundreds of Nintendo Switch games go on sale each week, from indie favorites to epics such as Monster Hunter Rise. Popular Nintendo games series like Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon occasionally receive up to a 33% discount during special events and holidays such as Black Friday and the Christmas season.
And today, I’ll show you Nintendo Switch game sales you can expect, the lowest prices of popular Nintendo Switch games, and how you can always find the lowest Nintendo Switch game prices going forward.
If you’re interested in checking out the most popular Nintendo Switch games, you can find them by clicking here.
Do Nintendo Switch Games Ever Get Cheaper Or Go On Sale?
Generally, Nintendo Switch games get cheaper and go on sale often, primarily on the Nintendo Switch eShop digital store each Thursday at 10 AM PST/1 PM ET. Discounts range from 10% to 90% off with the average discount being 69.76%.
Generally, Nintendo Switch games go on sale quite often
Most games are eligible for discounts, from games priced as low as $4.99 and as high as $59.99 (which is the typical price for big new releases).
Common Nintendo Switch Game Discount Rates (%)
| STANDARD PRICE | LOW DISCOUNT % | HIGH DISCOUNT % | AVG. DISCOUNT % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59.99 | 20 | 33 | 26.5 |
| 49.99 | 20 | 90 | 55 |
| 39.99 | 20 | 88 | 54 |
| 34.99 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 29.99 | 10 | 81 | 45.5 |
| 24.99 | 20 | 90 | 55 |
| 19.99 | 10 | 90 | 50 |
| 14.99 | 10 | 87 | 48.5 |
| 12.99 | 26 | 85 | 55.5 |
| 9.99 | 13 | 80 | 46.5 |
| 7.99 | 25 | 75 | 50 |
| 6.99 | 20 | 72 | 46 |
| 4.99 | 20 | 60 | 40 |
This is a list of the most common low, high, and average discount percentage rates for Nintendo Switch games on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
You can often expect to find games discounted at lower prices than their launch price over time. And the savings are quite substantial.
For example, $49.99 games can be found for as low as $4.99 which is huge.
Common Nintendo Switch Game Discount Prices ($)
| STANDARD PRICE | LOWEST PRICE | HIGHEST PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| 59.99 | 39.99 | 47.99 |
| 49.99 | 4.99 | 39.99 |
| 39.99 | 4.79 | 31.99 |
| 34.99 | 26.24 | 26.24 |
| 29.99 | 5.69 | 26.99 |
| 24.99 | 2.49 | 19.99 |
| 19.99 | 1.99 | 17.99 |
| 14.99 | 1.94 | 13.49 |
| 12.99 | 1.94 | 9.61 |
| 9.99 | 1.99 | 8.69 |
| 7.99 | 1.99 | 5.99 |
| 6.99 | 1.95 | 5.59 |
| 4.99 | 1.99 | 3.99 |
This is a list of the most common Nintendo Switch games discounted prices found on the Nintendo Switch eShop digital store.
A game will go on sale sometimes within a month of release, with most big blockbusters receiving discounts within a year of release.
Annual franchises such as Just Dance and most Ubisoft published games receive reduced prices quite quickly and go on sale regularly.
I suggest buying annually released games when they’re discounted if you have the patience and can wait.
Popular Nintendo Switch Games Lowest Prices (Historical)
Popular Nintendo Switch games go on sale on occasion, both new and old releases across digital and physical formats. A game’s popularity, the game’s age, as well as special events and holidays help determine a game’s sale discount and sale frequency.
Popular Nintendo Switch games go on sale on occasion
Common Factors That Determine A Game’s Sale Price & Frequency
- Age. Older games tend to receive frequent and higher discounts
- Popularity. Popular games tend to receive less frequent and little-to-no discounts
- Holidays. Games can often be found discounted around appropriate holidays
- Special events. A game may have a discount when new content releases, a tournament occurs, and so forth
- New entry. An older game may have a discount when a new entry in the series launches
Normally, popular Nintendo Switch games receive modest discounts instead of steep discounts. If a game is high in popularity and selling well, there is little reason to discount it.
Expect–in most case–to receive up to a 33% savings for popular Nintendo Switch titles while on sale.
For example, Animal Crossing: New Horizons lowest sale price was $44.99 (a $15 discount).
And Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s lowest sale price was $39.99 (a $20 discount).
Popular Nintendo Switch Game Lowest Prices
| GAME | LOWEST PRICE | MSRP |
|---|---|---|
| Among Us | 3.5 | 5 |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 44.99 | 59.99 |
| Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics | 27.99 | 39.99 |
| Diablo 3: Eternal Collection | 24.99 | 59.99 |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | 35 | 59.99 |
| Dragon Quest 11 S | 41.99 | 59.99 |
| Fitness Boxing | 21.97 | 49.99 |
| Just Dance 2021 | 18.88 | 49.99 |
| Kirby Star Allies | 35 | 59.99 |
| Luigi’s Mansion 3 | 30 | 59.99 |
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 39.99 | 59.99 |
| Mario Tennis Aces | 26.99 | 59.99 |
| Minecraft | 19.99 | 29.99 |
| Monster Hunter Rise | 33.88 | 59.99 |
| New Pokemon Snap | 39.99 | 59.99 |
| New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | 26.99 | 59.99 |
| Overcooked | 4.99 | 19.99 |
| Pikmin 3 Deluxe | 29.99 | 59.99 |
| Pokemon Sword and Shield | 39.99 | 59.99 |
| Ring Fit Adventure | 69.88 | 79.99 |
| Sonic Mania | 9.99 | 19.99 |
| Splatoon 2 | 26.99 | 59.99 |
| Stardew Valley | 9.69 | 14.99 |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury | 44.99 | 59.99 |
| Super Mario Maker 2 | 30 | 59.99 |
| Super Mario Odyssey | 29.99 | 59.99 |
| Super Mario Party | 30 | 59.99 |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 39.99 | 59.99 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 29.99 | 59.99 |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | 35 | 59.99 |
This is a thorough list of popular Nintendo Switch games at their lowest historical prices both physical and digital. MSRP stands for manufacturer’s suggested retail price set by the game’s publisher.
When Do Nintendo Switch Games Go On Sale?
As a whole, physical and digital Nintendo Switch games go on sale during holidays while digital games go on sale on the digital store each Thursday.
The best Nintendo Switch game sales can be found from the day after Thanksgiving (known as Black Friday) to Christmas and New Years.
Nintendo Switch games go on sale during holidays and each week on the digital store
Nintendo Switch games also receive a sale according to the holiday or special event occurring.
- Mario games get discounts on March 10th to celebrate “Mario Day”
- horror games have their prices slashed around Halloween
- cooperative and love-themed games often fall in price during Valentine’s day
Furthermore, nearly all games (big, small, popular, Nintendo developed, and otherwise) no matter its theme or genre receive discounts during the end-of-the-year shopping season.
When Is The Best Time To Buy Nintendo Switch Games On Sale?
The best time to shop Nintendo Switch games is on Black Friday along with the weeks leading up to Christmas.
This is the biggest shopping season of the year, with popular Nintendo Switch games usually receiving their biggest discounts of the year.
During the Black Friday and Christmas shopping season, you can expect to find Nintendo published titles discounted by 33% from $59.99 to $39.99.
Some discounted games may be as low as $29.99 or as high as $47.99. Titles range from games released in current and past years.
I often buy Nintendo Switch games I really, really want to play as they release and wait for Black Friday and Christmas to purchase the rest of the games I skipped during the year.
This is the best advice I can give if you want to save money on Nintendo Switch games: buy the most important games at launch and wait for sales for all others.
Where To Find The Best Nintendo Switch Game Prices
The best place to find Nintendo Switch games on sale is by visiting DekuDeals.com. The site includes daily updated sale prices of digital and physical Nintendo Switch games. Each game profile also shows the lowest price the game has ever been to help you make an informed purchasing decision.
Deku Deals is the best place to find Nintendo Switch game prices on sale
Deku Deals includes up-to-the-minute sales prices for Nintendo Switch eShop digital store games as well as physical Nintendo Switch games released at a host of retailers including Amazon, Gamestop, Target, and Walmart.
The website includes a host of robust filter options to help you find if a game you’re looking for is on sale.
Filters include showing games by
- price
- discount amount
- genre
- language
- ESRB game rating
- review score
- multiplayer options
- sale end date
- sale start time
- many others
You can also type a game’s title in the search box to see if a specific game is currently on sale. This is the best way to see if a game you’ve been wanting to buy is currently having a sale.
I use Deku Deals every week whenever I’m away from my Nintendo Switch to easily check what games are on sale.
This is a quick and efficient method to check the weekly Nintendo Switch eShop digital store sales every Thursday, and I recommend you do the same.
You can visit Deku Deals and view all Nintendo Switch games currently on sale by clicking here.
When Do Nintendo Switch eShop Sales End?
Nintendo Switch eShop sales last between 8 and 16 days on average, with some games remaining on sale for up to 21 days or more. Most games receive sales discounts on Thursdays that last until at least the following Thursday at the earliest or longer, depending upon a game publisher’s desires.
Nintendo Switch eShop sales last 8 to 16 days on average
Game sale duration often correlates to holidays or special events.
You can expect at least a week-long Nintendo Switch eShop sale of horror and suspense titles around Halloween, and a store-wide sale that lasts a week or more to celebrate the Electronic Entertainment Expo video game convention in the summer.
Other times, certain game publishers will hold a “publisher’s week” in which nearly their entire catalog of games go on sale for the next seven days.
Sale duration are ultimately up to the game’s publisher and vary from one sale to the next. But when a game goes on sale, it will remain so until the sale end date.
In all, expect a game on the Nintendo Switch eShop digital store to remain on sale for as little as a week to protect against disappointment.
Do AAA Nintendo Switch Games Go On Sale?
High production value, big budget games referred to as Triple-A (AAA) titles have sales regularly on Nintendo Switch. AAA series such as Assassin’s Creed and Borderlands are on sale nearly every month, while The Witcher 3 and blockbuster Nintendo titles go on sale every few months.
- Triple-A (AAA) Game: A game with high production values, big budget, and epic scale at a premium price
AAA titles have sales regularly on Nintendo Switch
Most Well Known Triple-A Video Game Publishers
- Nintendo
- Electronic Arts
- Ubisoft
- Activision
- Capcom
- Square Enix
- Take-Two Interactive
AAA game discounts and sales are ultimately up to the publisher of the game.
For example, Ubisoft (the publisher of Just Dance and Assassin’s Creed) games are on sale at least once a month, if not more.
The same can be said for Take-Two Interactive’s catalog of epic Nintendo Switch games such as Borderlands, Bioshock, and XCOM among others which receive sales multiple times a month.
But Epic games such as The Witcher 3 and Monster Hunter Rise get discounted rarely.
On the Nintendo Switch eShop digital store, the Witcher 3 only went on sale 8 times throughout 2021 which is less than one time per month while Monster Hunter Rise has only received one discount period since it released in March 2021.
Popular Nintendo Switch AAA Game Sale Frequency
The following is a list of AAA Nintendo Switch games and the approximate number of sale discounts each game received from late 2020 through the end of 2021 in both digital and physical formats.
- Monster Hunter Rise | 4
- Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection | 50+
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition | 19
- Borderlands Legendary Collection | 30+
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 12
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 16
- Bioshock: The Collection | 40
- XCOM 2 Collection | 45+
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 60+
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 20+
Once more, the publisher ultimately decides whether games are discounted on Nintendo Switch.
It’s best to watch the weekly Nintendo Switch eShop digital sales by visiting Nintendo’s website, the eShop digital store directly from a Nintendo Switch, or Deku Deals website.
Where Can You Buy The Cheapest Nintendo Switch Games?
The cheapest Nintendo Switch games can be found at game retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, and Target. Each has a Nintendo Switch section on their site that includes the current price of each game, and most have dedicated Nintendo Switch sales pages to make discount shopping simple.
The cheapest Nintendo Switch games can be found at game retailers
Check your favorite retailer of choice (or all of them) at least once a week to view the latest sales and cheapest Nintendo Switch games.
Nintendo Switch Retailer Links
Other Articles To Enjoy
10 Things All Nintendo Switch Owners Need To Do First
The Nintendo Switch: True And Hidden Costs Of Owning The System
Can You Refund Or Sell Digital Nintendo Switch Games?
Read More Great Articles
Now you know where to find the best Nintendo Switch deals.
Bookmark this site to stay up to date with even more Nintendo guides, information, and more.
Check out all Nintendo related articles on Bucket List Games.
(Screenshots taken by me. Images sourced from product pages, websites, or social media and are credited appropriately. Logos, images, etc. belong to their respective owners. All information current at time of publication.)
SOURCE: Nintendo
