Summary
Nintendo Switch 2’s first-party games will not be utilizing the controversial Game Key-Card feature that has drawn criticism from fans who prefer to possess physical copies of games. That means game cartridges starring classic characters like Mario and Link onNintendo Switch 2will still contain the full version of their games even if plenty of third-party games don’t.
After months of rumors, the Nintendo Direct presentation in early April confirmed a lot of features andspecs for the Switch 2. The successor to the original Switch launches on June 5, and it comes with a wide array of upgrades over its predecessor, including ten times the graphical processing power and intriguing Joy-Con features like magnetic attachments to the console and mouse capabilities.
But one far less popular announcement affects the game’s cartridges, asNintendo’s Game Key-Card featuremeans some seemingly physical games will contain no game data at all, instead providing players with a license that will allow them to download games directly to their devices. Responding to an inquiry fromNintendo Life, the company has announced that while this feature will be available to third-party developers, Nintendo currently has no plans to utilize it for games developed under the first-party brand. There is no clarification on whether that treatment will extend to Nintendo-published games, but other statements from company officials point to its physical copies still containing game data, at least for the immediate future.
Nintendo is Keeping First-Party-Developed Games Free of Game-Keys
The fan backlash to the announcement of Game-Key Cards has prompted Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser to provide some explanations. Earlier this week, Bowser reiteratedNintendo’s commitment to making physical games available, but he also noted that the Switch 2’s 64GB cartridges do not provide enough storage space to house some games in their entirety. In order to provide Switch 2 players with the biggest game catalog possible, Game Key-Cards provide a way for third-party publishers and developers to offer games with larger file sizes on the Switch 2, which opens up possibilities that the cartridges' hardware couldn’t provide otherwise.
While several third-party companies are taking advantage of this feature, some others are opting to keep their games fully available in a physical format on the new console. CD Projekt Red’s Jan Rosner noted earlier in May thatCyberpunk 2077will pass on the Game Key option for its Switch 2 release, stating that offering a full physical release is “the right thing to do.”
