Nintendo is developing a Switch 2 revision with a user-replaceable battery, exclusively for the European Union. According to Nikkei Asia, the updated model arrives “soon” and extends the swappable battery design to the Joy-Con 2 controllers as well—not just the console itself.The change is regulatory, not voluntary. Article 11 of the EU Batteries Regulation, passed in 2023, requires portable electronics sold in Europe to let consumers remove and replace batteries using commercially available tools. The deadline is February 2027. Nintendo’s current Switch 2 has a glued-in battery that doesn’t come close to qualifying.
Nintendo isn’t the first; Sony and Apple have already complied
The company is following a pattern. Sony redesigned the DualSense to allow easier battery access last year. Apple reworked its iPhone internals for the same reason. Nintendo is simply the latest to fall in line, and unlike the others, it’s extending the fix to its controllers too—a detail worth noting given how frequently Joy-Con hardware has drawn criticism.Nikkei Asia also reports that Nintendo is keeping its options open for a broader rollout if right-to-repair legislation gains ground in the US or Japan. For now, those markets get the original glued-in model.
The original Nintendo Switch may quietly disappear from European shelves
The report raises a question Nintendo hasn’t answered: what happens to the Switch 1 in Europe? The 2017 console has no path to compliance—a full redesign would be pointless for hardware that old. Discontinuation across EU markets before the 2027 deadline is the most logical outcome, even if Nintendo hasn’t confirmed it.For everyone outside Europe, the more repairable Switch 2 remains a regional exclusive with no confirmed release window. It’s a better product by almost any measure—and the only thing stopping a global launch is the lack of a law requiring it.
