If you’re planning on getting a third-party physical title for Switch 2, one thing you might want to check first is if it’s a regular game card or a game-key card. Game-key cards don’t contain the full data on the card and are instead used as a key to download the full game.
While a lot of developers are going to be distributing their Switch 2 games on game-key cards, there will still be some publishers offering the entire experience on the card – at least within the system’s launch window. This includes Marvelous USA, which has now responded to “some confusion” about its Switch 2 titles.
It’s confirmed its physical editions for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar and Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion in the West will all “feature the full game on the cartridge”.
Marvelous USA: “We’ve seen some confusion about our upcoming #NintendoSwitch2 releases. Our physical editions for Rune Factory, STORY OF SEASONS, and Daemon X Machina in the West will feature the full game on the cartridge. Hope that helps clear things up.”
As already mentioned, not every publisher will be distributing their games like this on the Switch 2. As revealed yesterday, it looks like a lot of Sega games locally could be game-key card releases based on the latest pre-order listings.
Website Gematsu also highlighted how Japan’s Switch 2 third-party lineup seems to be mostly made up of game-key card releases. You can read more about this in our existing coverage here on Nintendo Life:
