Nintendo says it has no plans to use game-key cards for its own Switch 2 games

There’s good news for collectors today as Nintendo confirmed in a statement that it’s not planning on using game-key cards for its first-party releases on Switch 2.

This backs up what we’ve started to see from the company thus far. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza were already confirmed to have all of their data on the cartridge. The same also goes for the company’s Nintendo Switch 2 Editions such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Game-key cards have received backlash since their reveal. This is because although they technically count as physical, no data is included. Cartridges don’t become playable until players download all required data from the internet. Still, it’s an improvement over code-in-box games that didn’t provide any sort of cartridge, preventing consumers from sharing games with others.

Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser commented on physical games yesterday, stating they’re “still a key part of our business”. He also indicated that game-key cards were introduced as an option for third-party titles.