Nintendo's Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition ships Nov. 12 for $69.99, with a $9.99 upgrade pack and a free demo due Nov. 2. Here is what to buy.
Nintendo's Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy comes out Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, and a free demo is due Monday, Nov. 2, according to IGN. The full Switch 2 version is listed at $69.99 on Nintendo's U.S. store. Owners of the original Switch game can skip that and pay $9.99 for the upgrade pack instead. Prices and the release date are as of Nov. 1, 2026, taken from Nintendo's own U.S. pages.
When does Pikmin 4 for Switch 2 come out in the U.S.?
Nov. 12, 2026. That date appears on both the full-game page and the upgrade pack page on Nintendo's U.S. store, and Nintendo repeated it in the surprise Pikmin Day Direct that aired on Oct. 31, according to IGN.
Nintendo has not said what time the game unlocks on the eShop, and the demo has no listed start time either. IGN reports the demo goes up on Nov. 2, so check the eShop that day rather than waiting up. Nintendo is also streaming a Treehouse session on Pikmin Day, Sunday, Nov. 1, at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET), which is the quickest way to see Dandori Academy in motion before you spend anything.
How much does the Switch 2 Edition cost, and do you need it?
It depends on what is already in your library, and the price list is short:
- Full Switch 2 Edition: $69.99 on Nintendo's U.S. store. It includes the original game plus the upgrade pack.
- Upgrade pack: $9.99, available to pre-order now, for people who already own Pikmin 4 on Switch.
- Demo: free, starting Nov. 2 according to IGN.
Nintendo's store page says you can keep playing the Switch version today and be ready for the Switch 2 Edition at launch by pre-ordering the upgrade pack. If you own the 2023 game, the $9.99 route is the obvious one. Paying $69.99 only makes sense if you never bought it, and in that case the demo is a cheap way to find out whether the series suits you.
Download sizes are listed too. The store page estimates 11.3 GB for the Switch version and 12.8 GB for the Switch 2 version, and the upgrade pack itself is listed at 1.2 GB. The game is rated Everyone 10+ by the ESRB for comic mischief and fantasy violence.
What does the Switch 2 version actually add?
Nintendo lists three changes. Visuals are sharper in both TV and handheld mode. Oatchi, your dog companion, now responds to voice commands through the Switch 2's built-in microphone, and IGN says commands like "rush" and "go to work" were shown in the Direct. And there is a new mode, Dandori Academy.
Dandori Academy is a set of timed treasure-collecting stages. According to IGN, you can practice as much as you like, then take exams that only run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with medals awarded for how you do. Nintendo says 72 stages will be released over time, at varying difficulty, so the mode is not fully available on day one.
The demo, per IGN, covers the opening Sun-Speckled Terrace area and two Dandori Academy stages, and your save data can transfer to the full game. Multiplayer is limited: Nintendo lists one system with two players, local wireless for two, and online for two. GameShare lets a friend join even without owning the game, but they can only play during that session.
What is confirmed and what is not?
Confirmed by Nintendo: the Nov. 12 date, the $69.99 and $9.99 U.S. prices, voice commands, Dandori Academy with 72 planned stages, file sizes, the Everyone 10+ rating and the Pikmin Day Treehouse stream.
Reported by IGN, not yet on a store page we read: the Nov. 2 demo date and contents. Nintendo of America also posted the demo date on X, according to other outlets, but we have not verified that post ourselves.
Not announced: eShop unlock times, how often new Dandori stages arrive, and any Pikmin 5. IGN notes the Direct had no Pikmin 5 reveal. The same Direct, per IGN, also teased a Pikmin Bloom update called Secret Caves for this winter and a new short film series, with monthly episodes planned through the Nintendo Today app.
Our take
This is an easy recommendation for existing owners and a more careful one for newcomers. Ten dollars for a visual bump, voice commands and a stream of timed challenges is a fair deal. The part we would watch is the drip-fed exam stages. Seventy-two sounds generous, but if they trickle out slowly, the launch version will feel lighter than the box suggests. The demo exists to settle that question for free, and it is worth downloading before you pre-order anything. IGN's own review of the original game gave it 9 out of 10, and that score is IGN's, not ours.
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Picture credit: Nintendo
