Nintendo Reportedly Adds Smaller Cartridges for Switch 2 Physical Games

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New reports suggest Nintendo may be changing its plans for physical games on the Nintendo Switch 2. According to industry sources, the company has started producing smaller-capacity game cartridges, adding 16GB and 32GB options alongside the standard 64GB cards. This move could help ease growing frustration around “Game Key Cards,” physical boxes that only include a download code instead of the full game.

Since the Switch 2 launched earlier this year, many third-party publishers have relied on Game Key Cards to avoid the high cost of producing full cartridges. The 64GB red cartridges used by the system are fast but expensive, with reports placing the cost at around $22 per unit. For smaller studios and mid-sized releases, this price has been hard to justify. As a result, several major games have launched in physical form without any game data on the cartridge, forcing players to download over 100GB before they can play.

Well-known physical media voices, including Physical Paradise and the preservation group Does It Play, were among the first to report that smaller cartridge sizes are now available. While this is good news for collectors and game preservation fans, some experts warn that these new cartridges may not be widely available until 2026. A major reason is the ongoing global shortage of NAND flash memory, which is also used heavily by AI data centers.

Even with smaller cartridges, the cost savings may be limited. Estimates suggest a 16GB cartridge could still cost around $17 per unit, only slightly less than the 64GB option. Because of this, many publishers may still see Game Key Cards as the cheaper choice, with packaging costs as low as $2 to $5. Some developers have also pointed to performance concerns, saying that certain large games run better when downloaded directly to internal storage rather than read from a cartridge.

Many players believe smaller cartridges could make true physical releases more realistic for indie games and smaller titles that do not need huge amounts of storage. At the same time, there is concern that as long as the price gap remains so large, Game Key Cards will continue to dominate. Nintendo has not confirmed these reports, but they suggest the company is at least looking for ways to support physical games while dealing with rising costs and supply limits.