14 Months Late, Elden Ring's Switch 2 Date Confirmed

When FromSoftware's open-world RPG was literally the first third-party game shown during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct back in April 2025, it felt like a statement. Here was the biggest action RPG of the decade, running on Nintendo's new hardware, front and centre. That was over 14 months ago, and Switch 2 owners have been waiting ever since.

The wait now has an end point. The official Elden Ring account on X confirmed today that Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition launches on Switch 2 on August 28, 2026. The package includes the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, along with some new content exclusive to this edition: two new starting classes, fresh character armour, and cosmetic customisation options for Torrent, your spectral steed.

Players on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC won't miss out on the new additions entirely. Bandai Namco confirmed that the extra content will be sold separately as The Tarnished Pack DLC on all other platforms, also launching August 28. Pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Why It Took This Long

The story behind this port has been messy. After early hands-on sessions at Gamescom 2025, reports painted a grim picture of the game's performance on Switch 2. Bandai Namco reportedly prohibited attendees from posting footage of their time with the build, which is never a confidence-inspiring move. By October 2025, the publisher officially delayed the game into 2026, citing a need "to allow time for performance adjustments."

More recent impressions from GDC in March have been considerably more encouraging. Multiple outlets described the port as running significantly better, with one hands-on account calling it "extremely fine" and noting it "did not run like shit." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but for a game of Elden Ring's scope on a handheld, functional and stable is all most people need. I'm less interested in whether it matches the PS5 version and more interested in whether it holds a steady frame rate during a Malenia attempt. If it can do that, the port has done its job.

Fourteen months between a console launch and one of its flagship third-party ports arriving is a long gap, and it underlines just how ambitious this particular project was. The Switch 2 has had a mixed track record with ports so far. Cyberpunk 2077 landed well, Capcom's Resident Evil ports have reportedly been strong, but Skyrim needed post-launch patches to get into shape. Elden Ring falling into the "needed extra time but got it right" category would be the best outcome here, and the recent hands-on coverage suggests that's where it's heading.

One detail I appreciate: the new starting classes included in the Tarnished Edition aren't locked to Switch 2 forever. Existing players on other platforms can buy them through the Tarnished Pack DLC. One of those classes is a heavy knight that reportedly has some of the best starting stats in the game, so veterans looking for a fresh run have a reason to care about this announcement too.

Elden Ring originally launched in February 2022 and has sold more than 30 million copies, with Shadow of the Erdtree adding another 10 million on top of that. The game currently holds a 95 on OpenCritic. An Elden Ring film adaptation directed by Alex Garland and produced by A24 is also in production, with a cast that includes Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Kit Connor, and Nick Offerman, and a reported budget well over $100 million. The film is set for a March 3, 2028 theatrical release.