The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct revealed a wealth of information about the upcoming console almost a month ago. Something that wasn’t received very well, however, was the announcement of Game-Key cards, physical game cartridges that would merely serve as a key to download a digital version of the game you bought. Unfortunately, it seems most third-party games for the Switch 2 will actually be Game-Key cards.
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Japan’s third-party physical Switch 2 games are almost all Game-Key cards
Source: Gematsu
Gematsu took to X when Switch 2 game preorders opened up in Japan to disclose the news. According to them, all physical third-party games for the console (excluding Cyberpunk 2077) that aren’t “Nintendo Switch 2 Editions” are Game-Key cards, meaning you will need an internet connection to download the full game.
To clarify, a “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” of a game is a game that initially debuted on the Switch, but received enhancements specific to the Switch 2 version. Though this sounds a bit confusing, there is text on the front of the game’s box that explicitly says if it is a Switch 2 Edition or not.
It appears the situation is similar in the West
It would be refreshing to hear the same doesn’t hold true in the West, but it seems to be the case here as well. Third-party physical preorders for the Switch 2, such as Sonic X Shadow Generations, have a disclaimer on the box saying “Game-Key Card” and state how much storage you’ll need to download the game via the internet.
Source: Nintendo
As of this writing, there are three confirmed third-party physical releases that don’t require the game to be downloaded in the West.
- Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
- Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
- Cyberpunk 2077
This is especially nice for games like Cyberpunk 2077, which fills up the entire 64 GB cartridge, an amount that would take up a quarter of the Switch 2’s memory by itself.
This trend is likely to continue in the future
Game-Key cards are troubling news for physical game collectors, and it may be puzzling as to why so many publishers are going this route with the Switch 2. Interestingly, Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Nike Partners, analyzed video game market trends and tweeted about the reasons for this shift concerning physical games.
The bottom line is that digital storefronts now make up the majority of sales, and this transition offers higher profit margins. While that may seem obvious, something I found surprising is just how much more expensive game cartridges are to make than discs. This could suggest that disc-based consoles may not lean so heavily into things like Game-Key cards in the future, but that depends on the publisher.
It isn’t completely pointless to buy physical third-party games for the Switch 2
It should be noted that you can resell Game-Key cards, so if you were wondering if there is a point in buying physical versions of third-party games, that’s one. These cards are not tied to your Nintendo account, so you can also let people borrow them, just like any other disc or cartridge. Whether third-party physical games in the future follow this trend remains to be seen.
