The Switch Is Officially Nintendo’s Best Selling Console Ever

The Nintendo Switch is officially the company’s best-selling console ever, surpassing the Nintendo DS, which long held the record at 154.02 million units sold. As of December 31, 2025, 155.37 million Switch units have been sold, making it Nintendo’s best-selling console ever, according to the company’s latest financial earnings report. 

This doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise, as the Switch has been trending toward taking that top spot for a while now, but it is perhaps surprising that the achievement occurred after the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 last summer. Of course, there are plenty of people still buying Switch consoles, especially with sales happening more frequently to liquidate stock in light of the Switch 2’s launch, but it’s a funny coincidence nonetheless. 

“Through the third quarter, cumulative sell-in of Nintendo Switch surpassed that for Nintendo DS, reaching the highest sales volume of any Nintendo hardware,” the earnings report reads. “The most recent figure shows that the number of annual playing users has remained steady. Even at this juncture between platform generations, the number of annual playing users remains above 100 million users, as in the previous year.” 

Nintendo says that in prior generational leaps, its relationship with consumers was disrupted and challenged as consumers upgraded to the latest console. “In contrast, the Nintendo Switch install base, which is our largest ever, and the fact that many consumers continue to play on the platform, provide a strong business foundation that has supported the launch of Nintendo Switch 2,” it notes in the earnings report. 

The Nintendo Switch 2 has already sold through 17.37 million units, according to the report, with 15 million of those sold in the console’s first six months. Nintendo says Switch 2 adoption is growing at the fastest pace ever, “significantly outpacing even the Switch.”

Perhaps the Switch 2 will surpass the Switch’s total units sold, but if that were to happen, it’s years away at this point. 

For more about the Switch 2, check out the new Joy Con 2 colors launching alongside Mario Tennis Fever this month, and then check out Game Informer’s list of the top 10 Nintendo Switch 2 games. 

Have you picked up a Switch 2? Let us know what your favorite game on it is in the comments below!