Nintendo Switch 2 to Offer Game Cards in Japan, West

Reports indicate that nearly all third-party physical Nintendo Switch 2 games currently announced in Japan will use Game-Key Cards, with Western releases following a similar pattern.

According to Gematsu, Japanese Switch 2 pre-orders show all third-party physical titles—except CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 and non-Switch 2 Edition releases—will ship as Game-Key Cards requiring internet access for full game downloads.

Ys X: Proud Nordics and No Sleep for Kaname Date are also game-key cards in Japan. And retail descriptions for Split Fiction list it as a code-in-a-box.

Western markets mirror this trend—Sega's Switch 2 titles like Sonic X Shadow Generations (as confirmed by Walmart listings) also use Game-Key Cards. Currently, only four third-party physical releases buck this trend:

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion - Nintendo Switch 2
• Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - Nintendo Switch 2
• No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Aiba Edition

Nintendo previously confirmed that some Switch 2 game cards wouldn't contain actual games, instead functioning as download keys—though Switch 2 Edition titles include both game data and upgrades on the cartridge.

Game-Key Cards contain only download codes—no playable data—requiring internet access for installation. Retail packaging clearly indicates these versions with front-box labeling.

Major titles like Street Fighter 6 and the Bravely Default remaster use this format, while Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza don't. Cyberpunk 2077's massive 64GB file size necessitated cartridge distribution.

Nintendo Switch 2 Game Boxes

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Niko Partners' Daniel Ahmad warns this focus on downloadable content may strain Nintendo's eShop servers at launch:

All the Switch 2 bundles come with a download code.

Mario Kart World is 24GB.

Most games come on a game key card and require a download.

The Switch 2 launches globally on the same day.

I am not a religious man, but I ask you all to pray for the Eshop servers on June 5.

Ahmad cites production costs as key motivators: "Game cards are significantly more expensive than discs (+ increases with each GB)...Digital games/lower capacity cards offer higher margins."

The Game Business' Christopher Dring describes these physical releases as essentially "Christmas/birthday present boxes," noting broader industry shifts away from physical media due to retail decline, manufacturing costs, shifting consumer habits, and sustainability concerns.

Switch 2 pre-orders launched April 24 to immediate sell-outs, prompting fans to flood eBay with fake listings to combat scalpers.