Players are gearing up for the arrival of the Switch 2 this summer, and we’ve been piecing together details about how game ownership and sharing will work. The picture is coming together, and in true Nintendo fashion, it’s a bit odd.
Developers who release projects on the Switch 2 will have the option to sell their work as a “Game-Key card,” which looks like a traditional physical game cartridge, but has no game data stored on it. Instead, when slotted into a Switch 2, game-key cards will automatically present instructions on how to download the title in question. The hardware will need an Internet connection and enough space for the game files on its system memory or microSD Express card. Once the download is complete, that Switch 2 can run the game whenever the game-key card is inserted into the system. The Switch no longer needs an Internet connection once the title has been downloaded, unless the game separately requires you to be online to play. We’ve now learned via GameSpot that game-key cards won’t be automatically connected to a single console or to a user’s Nintendo account.
It’s an unusual hybrid approach, and with many hybrid concepts, you get the best and worst of both worlds. For instance, storage is going to be at a premium in the Switch 2 and game-key card downloads will eat into that limited space. And unfortunately, game-key cards don’t future-proof customers against the day when Nintendo might decide to shut down the servers for the Switch 2, as it did with other sunsetted hardware like the . If and when that happens, the game-key cards will be essentially useless.
But there are some upsides, particularly when it comes to sharing or reselling games. We already knew that Nintendo would have an option called that supports local multiplayer with only a single purchased copy of the title, while Virtual Game Cards offer digital sharing (if in ). The addition of game-key cards that aren’t tied to a single person’s Nintendo account makes it easier to pass a game off to a friend once you’ve finished with it, or to resell it and recoup some of the $80 price tag of major releases.
And in case you were wondering: yes, the game cartridges .
