Walmart is trying to make up for the Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 pre-orders it cancelled the day before they were due to arrive. According to Kotaku and Polygon, affected buyers are getting emails that offer a 48-hour “Exclusive Reservation” to re-order the console, a $519 Walmart eGift card, or in some cases both. Walmart has not made a public statement. Everything below comes from what those outlets report the emails say.
If your Walmart Zelda Switch 2 order was cancelled, check the email address you ordered with now. The re-order window is short.
The Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 lists for $519.99 on Nintendo's store, about the value of Walmart's eGift card. Image: Nintendo
Table of Contents
What Walmart’s email offers
| Offer | What’s been reported | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusive Reservation | An item called “Exclusive Reservation” appears in your Walmart cart. Checking out reserves the console. The email gives 48 hours to claim it. | Kotaku |
| $519 eGift card | A Walmart eGift card for $519, roughly the console’s price, “for the inconvenience”. Polygon says gift cards arrive within 10 days of the first compensation email. | Kotaku, Polygon |
| Both | Polygon says most buyers report getting one offer or the other, and a small number say they got both emails. | Polygon |
| Why the orders were cancelled | Kotaku says the customer service email calls the cancellations “in error”. | Kotaku |
Nintendo’s own store lists the console at $519.99. The $519 eGift card covers about the full price, so anyone who gets one and still finds a console elsewhere ends up paying very little for it.
Who qualifies for the Walmart Zelda Switch 2 make-good
Going by the reports, the offers are going to people whose Walmart pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 – The Legend of Zelda – 40th Anniversary Edition were cancelled shortly before launch. Walmart hasn’t published who is eligible, how many orders were affected, or whether every affected buyer will get an email. So if you haven’t received anything yet, that doesn’t prove you’re excluded. Contacting Walmart customer service about your cancelled order number is the only way to find out.
How long the 48-hour window lasts
The 48 hours count from your own email, so check its timestamp. For a rough idea: one of the earliest public posts about the offer, from the deals account Wario64 and embedded in Kotaku’s report, went up at 01:27 UTC on October 31 (9:27 p.m. ET on October 30). Counting 48 hours from then gives about 01:27 UTC on November 2, or 8:27 p.m. ET on November 1 now that US daylight saving time has ended. That’s our calculation, not a deadline Walmart has published. If your email arrived later, your window closes later.
Walmart's emails reportedly let affected buyers reserve this console again within 48 hours. Image: Nintendo
What happened with the cancelled pre-orders
The Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 launched on October 29. On October 28, Kotaku reported that Walmart buyers were getting emails saying their delivery order was “out of stock”. Buyers who called customer service said they were told Walmart had oversold. Notebookcheck noted that the first cancellation emails offered no fix. It also pointed to social media photos of the console already on store shelves, and noted that Walmart’s online allocation is separate from the stock meant for its stores.
Our Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 restock tracker covers where each US retailer stood after launch. The Nintendo Store has restocked in brief bursts, and it showed the console as out of stock again when we checked at 04:17 UTC on November 1. Best Buy has a dated midnight opening on November 5. If you’re deciding whether the bundle is worth $519.99, our breakdown of the Zelda Switch 2’s price and contents explains it: there’s no game in the box.
Does this affect Ocarina of Time pre-orders?
The make-good reported so far is for the console. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 is a separate purchase that launches November 5. Notebookcheck reported that some Walmart pre-orders of the game were also delayed past launch, though it called cancellations of the game rare. For what the remake adds, see our rundown of the eight new Ocarina of Time Switch 2 features. For the editions and pre-order bonuses, see our Ocarina of Time Switch 2 pre-order guide.
What’s next
The main thing to watch is whether Walmart says anything officially about who qualifies and when the gift cards arrive. As of this writing, all the details come from customer emails shared online and reported by Kotaku and Polygon. If you got the reservation offer, check out before your 48 hours run out. If you got the gift card, Polygon’s reporting suggests it may take up to 10 days to show up. We’ll update this post if Walmart comments.
Sources: Kotaku (Oct 31), Polygon (Oct 31), Kotaku (Oct 28), Notebookcheck (Oct 28), Nintendo Store listing (price and stock, checked Nov 1, 04:17 UTC).
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Featured image: Nintendo
