Xenoblade Chronicles 3 gets a Switch 2 Edition on Dec. 3 with a new Hero, a defense mode and a $9.99 upgrade

Monolith Soft’s 2022 epic gets its Switch 2 makeover on Dec. 3, with a new Hero and a new mode on top of 4K at 60 frames per second. Here’s when Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition arrives, what each version costs and what the upgrade adds.

When does Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition come out?

Thursday, Dec. 3, 2026, digitally and as a boxed game. Nintendo revealed the edition and its date in the Nintendo Direct of June 9, 2026, the same show that launched the Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, and then showed Shimmer and Heroes' Vault in the Sept. 9 Direct.

Nintendo hasn’t posted an unlock hour. Expected unlock: midnight ET on Dec. 3, our estimate, which is 9 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

How much is Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition?

The boxed copy is listed at $69.99 at My Nintendo Store, which shows it out of stock, and the eShop page for the digital edition doesn’t take orders yet. Nintendo charged $69.99 for the Switch 2 Editions of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and $64.99 for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, so the series has a clear price line. For owners of the Switch game, the $9.99 upgrade pack is the cheapest way in.

Shimmer and Heroes' Vault

Shimmer is the headline addition, a new Hero who joins the party only in the Switch 2 Edition. Shimmer fights as a fast Attacker that strings together rapid combos and uses Foresight to read what comes next, and the recruitment comes with a quest of its own.

Heroes' Vault is a defensive battle mode built only for this edition. Enemies come in waves, every defeat charges a gauge, and you spend that gauge on better abilities or extra allies. The run ends with a powerful final boss, so the choices you make along the way decide how ready the party is. On top of that, the edition adds newly voiced event scenes.

4K at 60 fps, storage and the upgrade pack

In TV mode, the game outputs 4K on a compatible display, and handheld mode runs in full HD, both at 60 frames per second, with sharper and smoother cutscenes. It needs 42.6 GB of storage, plays in TV, tabletop and handheld modes, supports amiibo and backs up saves through Save Data Cloud with a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

The upgrade pack requires the full Switch version and unlocks everything above, Shimmer and Heroes' Vault included. Without it, the Switch game still runs on Switch 2, just without the new content and the 4K output. The Expansion Pass, with extra Hero Quests, the Challenge Battle and Archsage’s Gauntlet modes and the Future Redeemed story, stays separate paid DLC.

What is Xenoblade Chronicles 3?

The third mainline Xenoblade Chronicles game came out on Switch on July 29, 2022. It follows Noah and Mio, soldiers from the warring nations of Keves and Agnus, across a world hiding a dark secret. Battles play out in real time with a party of six, and pairs of characters can Interlink into a giant Ouroboros form for the toughest fights.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the last of the series' Switch games to reach Switch 2, after X: Definitive Edition in February, Definitive Edition in June and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in July. Next comes an all-new entry, covered on our Xenoblade Genesis release date page, and our upcoming Switch 2 games list has everything else landing on Dec. 3.

This page is updated as soon as Nintendo posts the digital price and the Dec. 3 unlock time.