Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition: Release Date, $9.99 Upgrade & Free Demo

Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy launches Thursday, November 12, 2026, on Switch 2. It costs $69.99 new, or $9.99 as an upgrade if you already own Pikmin 4, and a free demo is live now. Nintendo laid it all out in Sunday's Pikmin Day Direct, one week before GTA 6 eats everybody's free time.

Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition release date and price

• Release date: Thursday, November 12, 2026
• Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
• New copy: $69.99 in the US, per Nintendo Life
• Upgrade Pack: $9.99 on Nintendo's US store, up for pre-order now. You need the full version of Pikmin 4, sold separately.
• Free demo: on the eShop now, and your save carries over to the full game

What's in the free demo

The demo covers Sun-Speckled Terrace, the game's opening area, plus a taste of Dandori Academy. Nintendo Life counts two Dandori challenges in it. Because the save transfers, you won't have to replay the opening when you buy in.

What Dandori Academy adds

Dandori is Pikmin's word for planning your time, and the Academy turns it into a test. Nintendo's store page lists 72 stages, and they'll roll out over time instead of all landing on day one.

• Exams: three difficulty levels. GamerHeadlines reports they run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, one attempt each, with online leaderboards.
• Practice: stages can be replayed before you take a real shot, per TechGenyz.
• Online: online features need a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

Other Switch 2 upgrades

• Improved visuals on Switch 2.
• Oatchi voice commands through the Switch 2 microphone. Yes, you can yell at the space dog. This one isn't in the demo.
• Dandori Battles via GameShare, locally or online through GameChat, so a friend can play even if they don't own the game.

The Direct also confirmed Secret Caves for Pikmin Bloom this winter, plus Hello! Pikmin, a series of short films that has already started with "#01 Frog."

The 2nd Shift take

If you own Pikmin 4, $9.99 is an easy yes. This is how upgrade packs should be priced: real new mode, better visuals, ten bucks. If you never bought it, do the math first. Pikmin 4 is $59.99 on the eShop, so base game plus upgrade comes to $69.98, a penny under the new version. Either way, play the demo tonight. Weekly exams with one attempt are exactly the kind of thing that will have us arguing about routes at 2 AM. Our only complaint is the timing: November 12 is a brutal week to ask anyone to care about anything but Vice City.

Chasing leaderboard times or just want to talk Switch 2? Pull up a chair in the 2nd Shift Discord.

Keep reading: Every November 2026 game release date · Ocarina of Time release time, preload and file size

Sources: Nintendo: Pikmin Day Direct, Nintendo Store: Upgrade Pack, Nintendo Life, GamerHeadlines, TechGenyz