Best Buy's midnight Zelda Switch 2 launch draws long lines across the US

Best Buy held a midnight launch on November 4, 2026 for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the matching Zelda edition Switch 2 console and Pro Controller. Polygon reported that people queued for hours, and in some places days, outside stores across the US ahead of the event.

Limited stock

Customers who preordered could pick their order up at a local store during the launch. Best Buy also said a limited number of consoles and Zelda controllers would be on sale in store for people without a preorder. Early estimates put most stores at between 10 and 20 Switch 2 units, so those were expected to sell out long before copies of the game or accessories.

Some locations ran two separate queues, one for preorder pickups and one for walk-in buyers. Other shoppers were told that their store, first listed as a midnight location, would not get Switch 2 stock on Wednesday night. Those preorders were not cancelled; the stores simply could not sell them early. Some onlookers assumed the queues were for Pokémon cards due on Friday or for Black Friday deals, but the timing points to the Zelda launch. Polygon advises checking that your store is taking part and looking at queue lengths a few hours before midnight.

Why it is so hard to buy

The Triforce-themed console has sold out within seconds of each online restock since Nintendo announced it, which pushed fans towards an in-store launch that bots cannot snap up. Best Buy will not stock the electric ocarina accessory, which is also sold out on Nintendo's website, and Polygon suggests watching for restocks in the official Nintendo Store app.

The rush follows Walmart's gift card offer to Zelda preorder customers, and the remake also brings back Navi's original voice actor.

Source: Polygon.