Elden Ring Tarnished Edition hits Switch 2 on August 28
Elden Ring is finally coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on August 28, 2026. FromSoftware confirmed the date after delaying the port from its original 2025 window when early demos — including a rough showing at Gamescom 2025 — revealed serious performance problems. Hands-on reports from March 2026 suggested the studio had fixed the worst of it, and now the launch date is locked.
The package
The Switch 2 release is called Elden Ring Tarnished Edition and bundles the base game with the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. It costs $79.99 and comes as an 80 GB Game-Key Card, per Nintendo Wire. That price reflects the all-in content rather than a standalone port — the same bundle runs $80 on PlayStation and Xbox — so there's no regional surcharge for Switch buyers specifically.
Your journey to the Erdtree begins here. Rise, Tarnished.#ELDENRING Tarnished Edition is coming to #NintendoSwitch2 on August 28, 2026. pic.twitter.com/ko0liMaHij
— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) June 4, 2026
On the same day, owners of every other platform get access to a separate paid add-on called The Tarnished Pack. Exact pricing outside Japan is still unconfirmed, but FromSoftware set it at ¥550 there, putting the global estimate around $5. The pack includes two new starting classes — Knight of Ides and Heavy Knight — four new armor sets, three alternate looks for the horse Torrent, and new weapons and skills, according to Kotaku.
Why August matters
The timing works in the game's favor. Switch 2 has been selling fast — hitting 1 million units roughly 30 weeks quicker than the original Switch did — and Elden Ring fills a meaningful gap in the summer lineup before a $99 console price increase expected in September 2026. Avoiding a direct collision with GTA 6 also keeps the spotlight on FromSoftware's port rather than splitting attention.
The bigger picture
Elden Ring is becoming more than a game. A24 is producing a film adaptation directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), with Kit Connor, Ben Whishaw, and Cailee Spaeny in the cast. George R. R. Martin — who co-wrote the game's lore — is a producer. The budget exceeds $100 million, making it A24's most expensive project, and it's set for an IMAX release on March 3, 2028, per Deadline. For anyone who hasn't played yet, the Switch 2 edition is a reasonable entry point before that film arrives.
