Nintendo
Game-key cards are wreaking havoc on Switch 2: many third-party games have sold well below expectations
Early sales reports of both Switch 2 consoles and their games are worrying: the game-key card format is negatively affecting many third parties.
The expected launch of Nintendo Switch 2 at the beginning of June 2025 was peppered with several controversies, among them, the new game-key card format. This is an option offered by Nintendo to third-party developers and distributors to reduce costs and does not include the full game on the card but requires an internet connection to download it. In addition to the initial indignation at the high number of launch titles that would adopt this controversial format, the catastrophic consequences are now known: several publishers claim that they have obtained sales well below expectations despite the great interest in the new console.
The public has spoken: many Nintendo Switch 2 third parties have sold “less than expected,” and everything points to the game-key card format
A report by The Game Business, which compiled initial sales data for both Nintendo Switch 2 and its video games, reveals a worrying trend. Most third-party titles—that is, those not developed or distributed by Nintendo itself—have had very low sales figures that contrast with the great initial pull of the console itself, which went on to sell out in several countries. One publisher, who is not quoted in the article, has gone so far as to state that “sales have fallen short of even their most pessimistic projections.” Although no specific numbers are given, only percentages, the analysis is devastating.
Again, according to this report, around 80% of video games sold on Nintendo Switch 2 since it hit stores on June 5 have been in physical format. But the crux of the matter lies in the fact that, within this extraordinarily positive percentage for physical, many third-party titles have opted to use the controversial game-key card format to reduce costs. Although it is not officially confirmed, there are rumors that indicate that, on Switch 2, Nintendo would be offering as physical support to other developers and distributors only 64 GB game cards, or game-key cards, which do not house the full games. It is something that contrasts with the multiple alternatives available in Switch 1, where there were game cards of 2, 4, 8, 16, and even 32 GB, giving several options and a varied price range.
Given this severe limitation, and both to cut costs and because it wouldn’t make sense to use 64 GB capacity cards to hold titles with a smaller size, many publishers—with honorable exceptions such as CD Projekt with Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition—would have opted to release their Switch 2 games on a game-key card, causing a widespread outflow of gamers actively avoiding the format. Several of the games that have had such a release have been notable titles such as Sonic X Shadow Generations, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, or Street Fighter 6 Year 1-2 Fighters Edition.
The reason why a relevant sector of gamers shies away from game key cards is clear: generally, they still prefer the classic experience of taking a game out of its box, putting it in the console, and playing, without having to download anything. In the future, when the servers that host the game files close down, key cards will be completely useless if we do not download the titles in question beforehand, which calls into question their real practical usefulness.
While this may not seem to concern the user who is not usually informed about the state of the video game industry, the message seems to have struck a chord with industry enthusiasts. Individual initiatives such as Does It Play?, which detail whether many recent titles can be played offline, have brought the real physical format of yesteryear back into the spotlight in no uncertain terms. This idea flourished because, for several years now, many high-profile games, regardless of their platform, have had incomplete releases on disc, such as Doom: The Dark Ages or Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Since this can be considered misleading advertising to some extent, the need arose to have an encyclopedia to know, firsthand, which games are “safe buys.”
There are also indications that another key factor that has influenced the low sales of these third-party games is Nintendo Switch 2’s backward compatibility with titles from the previous console. While games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Super Bomberman R had very few rivals during the launch of the first Switch, on Switch 2 the picture is very different, as it is possible to use games from the 2017 Switch. And if that wasn’t enough, several titles, such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, have received performance patches and improved graphical fidelity on Switch 2, which increases the competition between new games and those from the previous machine.
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