Nintendo Switch 2 has been available for two weeks now, and the system itself seems to be performing quite well. Most regions are reporting big sales numbers, but it seems early adopters have largely rejected the third-party games that launched alongside it. According to a report from The Game Business, sales for the system’s third-party launch games have been mostly low, with one publisher stating that they came “below our lowest estimates.” However, it wasn’t all bad news, as one game seemed to rise above all the rest, and that was CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077.
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Cyberpunk 2077 is officially the best-selling third-party game on Nintendo Switch 2 right now, with sales currently outpacing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the original Switch. The Game Business offers multiple reasons Switch 2 buyers might have rejected third-party games at launch, including the fact that most of the games have been available on other platforms for some time now. However, the same can be said for Cyberpunk 2077, which was released all the way back in 2020. So why did Switch 2 owners pick up the CD Projekt Red game? It might have been a rejection of Game-Key Cards.
During the announcement of Nintendo Switch 2 back in April, Nintendo revealed Game-Key Cards, which are physical game cards that are inserted into the system, but don’t have any actual game data on them. Instead, it prompts a download from the eShop. Nintendo’s first-party games are not on Game-Key cards, but nearly every third-party publisher on the system opted to use them at launch. The one exception was Cyberpunk 2077, which features the full game and DLC all on the game card that comes inside the box. This was not a secret either, as CD Projekt Red openly advertised that it was doing this. In May, CDPR’s Jan Rosner told The Game Business that “Nintendo players are very appreciative of physical editions that are done right.”
Now that early sales figures are starting to come in, it looks like CDPR’s investment in a true physical release for Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2 may have paid off. While publishers have been largely dismissive of physical game releases for the last several years, the fact is, the original Switch has a passionate audience of game collectors. People like collecting physical games for the system. Across social media, many of those same fans have decried Game-Key Cards for the last two months. If early Switch 2 adopters are the most passionate Nintendo fans, it makes sense that these same people are skipping over Game-Key Card releases.
Hopefully this seeming rejection of Game-Key Cards will cause third-party publishers to rethink their strategies on Nintendo Switch 2. Limited Run Games has shown an interest in releasing true physical versions of Game-Key Card titles, but it remains to be seen whether publishers will accept. If this early sales data isn’t a rejection of Game-Key Cards, and Switch 2 owners are just skipping third-party launch games because they’ve been available for a few months now, we should see that reflected in the performance of games that are getting simultaneous releases on the platform alongside Xbox and PS5 versions. We’ll know better when games like Madden NFL 26 and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds are released later this year.
Did you pick up Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2? Do you care about Game-Key Card releases? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
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