Whether you just got a Switch 2 or you've had yours for a while, you may want to grab some key accessories to make it fit your gaming style even more than it already does. Not only can the right accessories make it easier and more fun to play all of the games you love, but they can also make your gaming experience better in different environments, be it on the couch, in an airplane or in the car. We've got to try out some of the latest Switch 2 accessories, and some of our old favorites are also compatible with the new console. These are our current favorite Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, and we'll add to this list over time as we test out new gear.
Best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
More Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
Nintendo announced a bunch of new accessories when it revealed the Switch 2 earlier this year. Key among them are a new Switch 2 Pro controller, Switch 2 camera, an all-in-one carrying case and more. Our staff will be testing out a bunch of these accessories, and we'll keep our favorites list up to date as we do so. If you're interested in picking any of those new Switch 2 accessories up, you can find them at a variety of retailers:
Joy-Con 2 bundle
Nintendo
Walmart
GameStop
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip
Nintendo
Walmart
GameStop
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2)
Nintendo
Walmart
GameStop
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case
Nintendo
Walmart
GameStop
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector
Nintendo
Walmart
GameStop
Best Buy
Target
Amazon
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-nintendo-switch-2-accessories-070011952.html?src=rss
The Federal Communications Commission has added foreign-made drones and their critical components to the agencys Covered List, making them prohibited to import into the US. In a public notice published by the FCC, it said several national security agencies have determined that umanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components produced in foreign countries pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. UAS and UAS critical components must be produced in the United States, the agency said. UAS are inherently dual-use: they are both commercial platforms and potentially military or paramilitary sensors and weapons. UAS and UAS critical components, including data transmission devices, communications systems, flight controllers, ground control stations, controllers, navigation systems, batteries, smart batteries, and motors produced in a foreign country could enable persistent surveillance, data exfiltration, and destructive operations over U.S. territory, including over World Cup and Olympic venues and other mass gathering events.FCC Chair Brendan Carr clarified on X that the ban does not affect old drones. People can continue using the devices theyve already purchased, and retailers can keep selling models that have already been approved by the agency. The new rule only applies to upcoming models. He also said that the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security can allow specific new models, a certain class of drones or particular components to be sold in the US. Today, based on an Executive Branch national security determination, the FCC has added foreign-produced UAS (drones) and foreign-produced UAS critical component parts to the FCCs Covered List on a going forward basis. President Trump has been clear that his Administration will pic.twitter.com/tVLlsBeOfw Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 22, 2025
The FCC didnt name any manufacturers in particular, but one of the most well-known brands that will be affected by the ban is Chinese company DJI, which told Engadget that it was disappointed by the agencys decision. While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination, a spokesperson said. DJI has long been in the US governments crosshairs and has been trying to prove that its products arent a national security threat. DJI products are among the safest and most secure on the market, supported by years of reviews conducted by US government agencies and independent third parties, they added. Concerns about DJIs data security have not been grounded in evidence and instead reflect protectionism, contrary to the principles of an open market. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-bans-new-foreign-made-drones-and-components-053201854.html?src=rss
Nintendo is in a giving state of mind this season, offering some holiday deals on games in the eShop, including a few recent Switch 2 titles. For instance, the Switch 2 version of Ball x Pit, which was one of our staff's favorite games of 2025, is 20 percent off at $12. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is $40, down from the usual $50 on Switch 2, which is about as good a deal as youll get for a current-year game release.There are also a few older games that have gotten even steeper discounts. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 is a whopping 75 percent off, so load it onto your new console for less than $18. At about $33, Cult of the Lamb: Unholy Edition is half off for the original Switch. No Man's Sky is also 50 percent off, so you can grab it for either Switch console for just $24. Star Wars: Outlaws is down to $40, which is $20 off, and Nier: Automata is $16, compared with its usual $40 price tag.Those are just a few that caught our eye. The discounts will run until January 4, so you can make purchases as a last-minute gift or load up your own Switch in case nobody gifts you with a game you've been eyeing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-has-huge-discounts-on-switch-2-games-in-its-holiday-sale-220058951.html?src=rss
Anna's Archive, the open-source search engine for shadow libraries, says it scraped Spotify's entire library of music. The group acquired metadata for around 256 million tracks, with 86 million actual songs, and is just under 300TB in total size.
"A while ago, we discovered a way to scrape Spotify at scale. We saw a role for us here to build a music archive primarily aimed at preservation," the group said in a blog post. The pirated treasure trove of music represents over 15 million artists with over 58 million albums.
The group intends to make all files available for download for anyone with the available disk space. "This Spotify scrape is our humble attempt to start such a preservation archive for music. Of course Spotify doesnt have all the music in the world, but its a great start," the group wrote. The 86 million songs that the group has archived so far represent about 99.6 percent of listens on the platform. This only represents about 37 percent of the total and the group still has millions left to be archived.
The open-source site is normally focused on text like books and papers, which it says offers the highest information density. The group says its goal of "preserving humanity's knowledge and culture" doesn't distinguish between media types. Of course none of this is exactly legal, and the sharing or downloading of all these files is flagrantly in violation of IP protection laws.
Anna's Archive contends that current collections of music, both physical and digital, are over-indexed to the most popular artists or composed of unnecessarily large file sizes due to collectors' focus on fidelity. The group says that what it's amassed is by far the largest music metadata database publicly available. The music files will be released in order of popularity in stages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/pirate-group-annas-archive-says-it-has-scraped-spotify-in-its-entirety-211914755.html?src=rss
Game developer Vince Zampella, known for his work on many popular first-person shooter franchises, has died. According to Los Angeles news channel NBC4, Zampella was killed in a single-vehicle car crash on Sunday along with one other unnamed person. He was 55.Zampella has helmed several well-known first-person shooter titles. He was a founder of Infinity Ward, where he was a creator of the Call of Duty series. Zampella remained at the company for the launch of the hugely popular franchise's first few installments. In 2010, he co-founded Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall, Titanfall 2 and Apex Legends. Respawn was acquired by EA, and most recently, Zampella was leading DICE's studio in Los Angeles and headed up the Battlefield franchise, another FPS series that just saw the launch of Battlefield 6 earlier this year.EA shared the following statement about Zampella's death: This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vinces family, his loved ones and all those touched by his work. Vinces influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching. A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come.Update, December 22, 2025, 3:53PM ET: Added statement from EA.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/call-of-duty-co-creator-vince-zampella-killed-in-a-car-crash-204046354.html?src=rss
The Indie Game Awards has stripped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of two major awards, including Game of the Year and Debut Game. This is due to developer Sandfall Interactive's use of generative AI, as reported by Mashable.
This looks to be fairly cut and dry. The awards ceremony clearly states in its FAQ that any game that uses generative AI in the development process would be "strictly ineligible" for nominations. It was recently revealed that Sandfall did indeed use generative AI while making Clair Obscur.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears as though Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 used generative AI for these textures. pic.twitter.com/V6mtdG8bUx Nyanomancer (@nyanomancer) April 26, 2025
The company says it was only for placeholder textures that were later removed, but a few squeezed past the QA process and made their way to the final game and, as such, the internet. The Indie Game Awards is clear about disallowing any use of generative AI and, so, here we are.
"In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI art in production on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination," the organization wrote. "While the assets in question were patched out and it is a wonderful game, it does go against the regulations we have in place."
Six One Indie, the company behind the ceremony, deserves a smidge of the blame here. These awards were initially handed out last week and we've known about the whole Clair Obscur AI thing for months. It says it didn't discover Sandfall's use of AI until December 18, the day the winners were announced. A Google search on December 17 likely would've helped. It is worth noting, however, that Sandfall did previously agree that no generative AI was used during development as part of the submission process.
In any event, the second-highest scoring titles in each category now gets the award. This means that Blue Prince is now Game of the Year and Sorry We're Closed snags Debut Game.
Despite this AI controversy, Clair Obscur had a record-setting night at this month's The Game Awards. It won just about everything it was put up for, including Game of the Year. It also made our list of the best games of 2025. The developer announced that it had sold 5 million copies back in October. That number is surely much higher by now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-indie-game-awards-snatches-back-two-trophies-from-clair-obscur-over-its-use-of-generative-ai-164730842.html?src=rss
An investigation by the New York Times into Uber's background checks and safety procedures for its drivers found a patchwork approach that opens the door for violent felons to drive for the ride-hailing platform.
Uber outright rejects applicants convicted of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and terrorism. However, in 22 states, the Times found Uber can approve applicants convicted of many other offenses including child abuse, assault and stalking, if the convictions are at least seven years old. The extensive investigation also found that in 35 states, these checks are based largely on where someone has lived in those seven years, meaning convictions from other locations could be missed.
In 2017, Massachusetts conducted an audit of ride-hailing drivers in the state and ended up banning more than 8,000 drivers (about 11 percent) who were previously approved. Lyft, for its part, does not allow drivers with previous violent felony convictions regardless of how long ago the conviction was.
In a document from 2015 reviewed by the Times, Uber executives discussed a strategy to "shift the conversation about safety from background checks to [less costly] initiatives proven to reduce incidents." A 2018 email from Ubers then head of safety communications described the company's background check policy as "a bare minimum."
The Times compiled half a dozen examples of serious cases where Uber drivers with past violent convictions were later accused by passengers of sexual assault or rape. Two of those cases resulted in criminal convictions.
Between 2017 and 2022, Uber's US operations received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct among almost every eight minutes, according to the company's own internal data. Uber said 75 percent of these reports were for "less serious" incidents such as flirting or making comments about a rider's appearance, and claimed that 99.9 percent of its rides take place without incident.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uber-allows-violent-felons-to-drive-on-its-platform-investigation-finds-162721155.html?src=rss
Paramount Skydance isn't giving up on obtaining Warner Bros. Discovery just yet. The company has amended its $108 billion offer to include Larry Ellison's "irrevocable personal guarantee" equaling $40.4 billion. Ellison is the founder or Oracle and a backer of Skydance, created by his son David Ellison, Paramount Skydance's CEO.
On December 17, WBD formally recommended shareholders reject Paramount's offer. WBD had already accepted an $82.7 billion offer from Netflix, set to close some time next year following regulatory approval. "[The board] has unanimously determined that the tender offer launched by Paramount Skydance on December 8, 2025 is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders and does not meet the criteria of a 'Superior Proposal' under the terms of WBD's merger agreement with Netflix announced on December 5, 2025," WBD stated.
The Paramount deal included backing by sovereign wealth funds in places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But the Ellisons previously said that, if the other funders dropped out, they would "backstop the full amount of the bid." That wasn't enough of a guarantee for WBD.
Now, Paramount has returned with the irrevocable personal guarantee and an agreement that the senior Ellison won't "revoke" or "adversely transfer" the Ellison family trust's assets while the transaction is pending. WBD had stated that a personal guarantee was the only fix to Paramount's inadequate offer.
Paramount might have taken this step, but not with a smile on its face: "None of these concerns, nor the demand for a personal guarantee, were raised by WBD or its advisors to Paramount in the 12-week period leading up to WBD agreeing to the inferior transaction with Netflix, Inc.," the company stated about its updated offer.
"Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice," David Ellison stated. "We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future."
Paramount's updated offer also includes publishing the trust's assets, more flexible transaction terms and an increase from $5 billion to $5.8 billion of its "regulatory reverse termination fee" in line with Netflix's.
Paramount's offer will expire on January 21, 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/paramount-has-an-updated-warner-bros-discovery-bid-144348321.html?src=rss
Instacart has announced it will be ending price testing on its platform. This comes after a study published earlier this month revealed pricing experiments that led to some customers seeing higher prices than others and the FTC saying last week it would be investigating the grocery delivery app.
"Effective immediately, Instacart is ending all item price tests on our platform. Retailers will no longer be able to use Eversight technology to run item price tests on Instacart," an Instacart spokesperson shared with Engadget. The blog post called out "misconceptions and misinformation," maintaining that these price experiments were never the result of dynamic pricing and were never based on any personal or behavioral information about shoppers.
In an earlier blog post responding to the study's allegations, Instacart said pricing changes were a "form of short-term, randomized A/B testing." The post referred to this process as "common in the grocery industry" and continued to paint the practice as a way to "invest in lower prices." It also highlighted that Instacart does not set the prices on its platform, which are set by retailers listed on the app.
The company made clear that its retail partners will continue to set their own prices on the platform, which may vary by location just as they do in brick-and-mortar stores, but that Instacart will no longer support any item price testing services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/instacart-is-ending-its-controversial-price-tests-134552152.html?src=rss
The Nintendo Switch 2 supports a wide range of controllers, from Nintendos own Pro Controller to many Bluetooth gamepads you might already have. Whether youre setting up your new console for the first time or adding extra controllers for multiplayer games, pairing them is simple as long as you know where to look. Heres how to connect the Switch 2 Pro Controller, how to sync additional Bluetooth controllers and what to do if something doesnt pair correctly.Before you start: What youll needTo pair any controller with the Switch 2 youll need the console powered on and updated to the latest system software. Navigate to System Settings, System then System Update to check. It also helps to have the controller charged, since some models need enough battery to begin pairing.On the Switch 2, all controller settings reside in the Controllers & Sensors section of System Settings. You can pair up to four controllers depending on the game and the controller type.How to pair the Switch 2 Pro ControllerNintendos Switch 2 Pro Controller is the simplest device to connect, and it can be paired in two different ways: wired and wireless. If youre setting it up for the first time, the wired method is the fastest and most reliable.To pair the Switch 2 Pro Controller using a USB cable:Connect the Pro Controller to the Switch 2 using a USB-C cable.Wake the console and open the Controllers menu from the Home screen.The console will automatically detect the controller and pair it.Once the controller is paired, you can unplug the cable and continue using it wirelessly. This method ensures an instant connection and is useful if the controller has low battery.To pair wirelessly:Turn on the Switch 2 and navigate to System Settings, Controllers & Sensors then Change Grip/Order.Press and hold the small Sync button on top of the Pro Controller until the indicator lights begin flashing.The Switch 2 will detect the controller and confirm the pairing.How to pair other Bluetooth controllers to Switch 2The Switch 2 supports a wide range of Bluetooth controllers, including many gamepads designed for PC, Android and iOS devices. Pairing these controllers uses a similar process, but youll start by putting the controller into Bluetooth pairing mode.Each controller handles this differently. On most models, youll hold a dedicated sync button or press a combination of buttons until lights begin flashing. If youre not sure which buttons to press, check the controllers manual.On the Switch 2, navigate to the Home Menu and select Controllers then Change Grip/Order. This page is always used for wireless pairing. The console will search for available Bluetooth devices as soon as it opens.Once your controller appears on the screen, select it to finish the pairing process. The lights on the controller should stop blinking and settle into an assigned player slot. Some controllers may prompt you to confirm the button layout or adjust settings after pairing.The Switch 2 can use up to four wireless controllers at once. For local multiplayer games, each controller will automatically be assigned a player number once connected.Troubleshooting pairing issuesIf your controller doesnt appear in the pairing menu, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the Switch 2 by navigating to System Settings then Controllers & Sensors. Its also worth restarting the controller and checking that it has enough battery to stay in pairing mode. Moving closer to the console can help reduce interference as well. If youre trying to connect a controller that supports multiple device profiles, verify that its set to Nintendo Switch mode or a standard Bluetooth gamepad mode.With Pro Controllers, a wired connection usually solves pairing problems. Plug the controller into the Switch 2 using a USB-C cable and allow it to sync before trying wireless mode again.Reconnecting paired controllersOnce youve paired a controller, reconnecting it is as simple as pressing any button. The Switch 2 will wake and recognize it automatically as long as the controller is still linked to the console. If you pair the controller with another device later, you may need to repeat the pairing process.Pairing controllers with the Switch 2 is quick once you know where the settings live. The Pro Controller offers the most seamless experience, especially if you start with a wired connection, but the consoles Bluetooth support gives you plenty of flexibility for multiplayer games or different play styles.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/how-to-pair-controllers-with-the-nintendo-switch-2-130000126.html?src=rss
