Summary
A recent leak has seemingly revealed why so many games onSwitch 2are using game-key cards, asNintendois reportedly only offering developers 64 GB cartridges or the controversial game-key format.
Considering how popular the original Switch has been over the past decade, its successorshould have been one of the easiest slam-dunks in Nintendo’s history. That hasn’t exactly been the case, though, as the new console has run into a number of big issues since it was revealed,from how expensive its games areto apurported lack of innovation.
Perhaps the most controversial part of the Switch 2’s line-up, though,is how it’s handling its third-party physical releases. Many of the games that are coming to the Switch 2 (aside fromCyberpunk 2077, of all games) will be using the game-key card that requires an additional download, instead of just being contained completely on the cartridge itself.
Arc System Works Hack Seemingly Confirms Why The Switch 2 Has So Many Game-Key Releases
Looks Like Developers Don’t Have Much Choice
As you can imagine,this has caused a lot of fears about the Switch 2’s approach to physical releasesand made preservation even more of a worry than usual. Nintendo fans have wondered why this is the case for so many of the console’s games since it was announced, with many assuming that it was simply a size limitation.
With some games not being 64 GB and still using a game-key card, it’s raised some questions about how accurate that is. A new leak seems to have given us a bit of an explanation as to why this is the case, though.As pointed out by Nintendo Everything, Arc System Works recently suffered a hack that has shared more details about the Switch 2since the studio is planning on supporting it in the future.
Twitter user necrolipe shared some info from the leaks that suggests that only three formats are availablefor Switch 2 games - digital releases, a 64 GB cartridge with the game included, and the game-key card (codenamed Potion). This indicates that Nintendo only offers those three formats instead of a smaller cartridge, which might push developers to go for the cheaper game-key option,which isn’t being taken well at all.
CD Projekt Red previously confirmed that 64 GB is the maximum amount of space that a Switch 2 game can have, supporting this notion.
While the leak could be inaccurate or missing information, it does support the theory that game-key releases are so common because they’re the cheaper option compared to having to go for expensive 64 GB cartridges.
