Culdcept Begins pre-orders open with 10% eShop discount

Pre-orders for Culdcept Begins are now live on the Nintendo eShop for both Switch and Switch 2. A 10% discount applies through July 15 for digital editions and an optional upgrade pack ahead of the game’s July 16, 2026 release.

The digital Switch edition is priced at $44.99, reduced to $40.49 with the discount. The Switch 2 edition is listed at $54.99, reduced to $49.49. The upgrade pack is normally $10 and is discounted to $9 during the same period. Physical editions went on sale earlier: the standard physical edition is priced at $54.99 / £43.00, and a limited steelbook edition, which includes a folding box, soundtrack CD and a set of cards, is priced at $89.99 / £68.00.

Culdcept Begins is the first new entry in the Culdcept series in 10 years and is presented as a prequel to the original game. The story follows Kamur, a transfer student at the Royal Cept Academy who joins the Royal Cepter Guard Regiment as a continent-wide conflict unfolds. The game’s setting centers on fragments of the Book of Creation, called Culds, which grant power to those known as Cepters.

Gameplay combines board-game movement and card-based strategy. Players roll dice to move around the board, use cards to develop territories, collect tolls or resolve conflicts through battles, and seek to accumulate enough magic power to win. The game includes a single-player story mode and online versus options that allow players to create or join rooms or enter quick matches.

The Switch 2 version supports GameShare for up to four players in cooperative or competitive play and adds mouse support. Development notes state that Omiya Soft supervised a redesign of cards, maps and world settings, and character and creature art was created by Satoshi Matsuura. The game contains more than 400 unique cards and a redesigned user interface aimed at clarifying battle states and advantages.

Pre-order discounts on the eShop run through July 15. Physical standard and limited steelbook editions remain available from retailers offering those versions.