Rumour: New Leak May Explain Why So Many Switch 2 Physicals Are Game Key Cards

The launch of the Switch 2 has sparked much discussion about Nintendo’s innovative Game Key Cards. In case it slipped past you, these physical cards do not encompass the game but serves as a key to accessing the game digitally. This feature has already been confirmed for games like Street Fighter 6, Split Fiction, Star Wars Outlaws, among several others, and a recent leak potentially sheds light on the reason behind this (courtesy, Gizmodo).

Just last week, Dexerto laid out that Arc System Works, the developer of Guilty Gear Strive, was subjected to hacking causing numerous leaks about its imminent titles and updates. Universo Nintendo editor and leaker @necrolipe indicated that one significant detail from the leakage implies that Nintendo is providing very limited options for Switch 2 releases from third parties, possibly shedding light on why many are veering towards the Game Key Card alternative.

As per @necrolipe’s tweet (translated by Google), studios are presented with three choices when rolling out on Switch 2: a digital-only release, a Game Key Card (dubbed “POTION” in the leaked information), or a 64GB full game cartridge.

If this leak is credible and 64GB is indeed the only option for a physical full game release on Switch 2, it may rationalize why developers are choosing the Key Card alternative over the increased cost of the larger storage alternative.

The Switch 1 enabled studios to choose from 8GB and 16GB cartridge options for physical launches, making a complete-on-cartridge release less expensive and easier to manage with escalating development costs. If such cost-effective options are not presented for Switch 2, no matter the game’s size, then why burden the expense of the extra space?

This isn’t the first instance of rumors around 64GB Switch 2 cartridges – CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 would be delivered fully on a 64GB cart just after its Switch 2 announcement – but that doesn’t make us blindly believe this rumor. Though 64GB might be the maximum storage for a Switch 2 cartridge, with first-party games allegedly having considerably smaller file sizes, we remain skeptical if it’s the only choice.

Nevertheless, perhaps the smaller carts are solely reserved for Nintendo. Our point being, it’s all a bit ambiguous at the moment so, we’re reticent to accept the above as ‘the final word’ until further substantiated. We’ve requested Nintendo for a comment on the storage sizes for cartridges, and we’ll update this post if and when we receive any input in return.

Interested in purchasing any Game Key Card releases? Share your thoughts in the comments.