Nintendo Reveals the 4 Best-Selling Switch 2 Games So Far

In its latest financial report, Nintendo revealed the four best-selling games it’s published for the Switch 2 so far. With the original Switch now standing tall as Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time, expectations are high for the Switch 2. While its holiday sales numbers may not have been up to the standard that some expected, the Switch 2 is still the fastest-selling console ever and has already passed 17 million units sold to date.

A big reason why the Switch 2 is flying off store shelves is because of its strong software lineup. The Switch 2 is backward compatible with the vast majority of Switch 1 games, meaning that there are dozens of critically-acclaimed masterpieces to play on the device already. However, what will really sell the Switch 2 long-term is its exclusive games, and while it has only been on the market for seven months, it already has an impressive lineup of exclusives.

Nintendo recently provided some concrete sales numbers for three of its Switch 2 exclusive games, along with a cross-gen title that also performed very well on the new home console/handheld hybrid. Surprising no one, Mario Kart World is the best-selling Switch 2 game published by Nintendo so far, with 14.03 million units sold to date. Mario Kart World was a pack-in game for many Switch 2 launch bundles, so it was always expected to take the top spot. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is comfortably the best-selling game on the original Switch, and it looks like history is going to repeat itself with Mario Kart World.

List of the Best-Selling Switch 2 Games Published by Nintendo

1. Mario Kart World – 14.03 million
2. Donkey Kong Bananza – 4.25 million
3. Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – 3.89 million
4. Kirby Air Riders – 1.76 million

In second place is Donkey Kong Bananza. The ambitious new 3D platformer with highly destructible environments has managed to sell an impressive 4.25 million units so far. Considering Donkey Kong Bananza‘s glowing review scores, it will be interesting to see how it performs over time. There are no Donkey Kong games represented in the list of Nintendo’s best-selling Switch 1 games, so it’s possible Bananza will get knocked off eventually.

In third place is the previously alluded to cross-gen game, Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Clearly the most successful “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” release so far, Pokemon Legends: Z-A managed to sell 3.89 million units on the Switch 2 alone. Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 boasts better performance and resolution than its Switch 1 counterpart, but otherwise they are basically the same game. If the Generation 10 Pokemon games are announced to be Switch 2 exclusives as expected, fans can expect them to eclipse Legends: Z-A in no time at all.

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And finally, the fourth best-selling Switch 2 game published by Nintendo is Kirby Air Riders, with 1.76 million units sold to date. Kirby Air Riders came out near the end of the year and so didn’t have nearly as much time to push units compared to some of the other games here, so fans can expect its overall sales to go up over time. The fact that major updates for Kirby Air Riders are already over may work against it in the long run, though.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Didn’t Crack 1 Million Units Sold

What may be concerning to some fans is that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has seemingly failed to hit 1 million units sold, and is nowhere to be seen on Nintendo’s list of best-selling Switch 2 games. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was a cross-gen release, so its sales were split between Switch 1 and Switch 2, but its absence is not particularly encouraging, and may have fans worried about the future of the Metroid franchise.

Then again, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a unique case. Metroid Prime 4 had an unusually long development cycle, with work on the game rebooted in 2019 after its initial 2017 announcement, with Nintendo handing the reigns over to Retro Studios. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has the lowest review scores of any main series Metroid Prime game to date, and that could very well be playing a role in its relatively low sales numbers. It will be interesting to see if it ever shows up in Nintendo’s list of best-selling Switch 2 games, but with some heavy-hitting exclusives on the horizon, fans may want to keep their expectations in check.

Systems

Released

December 4, 2025

ESRB

Teen / Animated Blood, Violence

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

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