As Cyberpunk 2077 tops Switch 2 sales charts, one analyst says divisive game-key cards "aren’t a major issue" for most gamers and a Baldur's Gate 3 dev agrees

Game-keys cards have been pretty controversial since the Nintendo Switch 2 dropped. They're regular-looking carts that you get when buying a physical copy, but they don't actually contain the full game data. It's essentially a glorified download code in a box. But one analyst reckons that Cyberpunk 2077 being the only major third-party game to launch in a real cartridge didn't help its sales that much.

In case you missed it, Cyberpunk 2077 was the best-selling third-party Switch 2 game in the US. It's also, maybe coincidentally, the only major non-Nintendo game to avoid going the game-key card route. The entire 64gb game is on the Switch 2 cartridge if you pick it up physically - a decision CD Projekt Red calls the "right thing to do."

Of course, physical collectors saw this as an encouraging sign: game-key cards aren't selling as well as the one normal, all-on-cart game. Although, in a recent social media post, Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad says that's "not the full story."

He goes on to explain that the Switch 2's launch mirrors the OG Switch in the sense that third-party games generally didn't sell that well unless they were a notable exclusive. Cyberpunk 2077's success isn't necessarily surprising, either, since it's the console's technical showcase and it's already more popular than the other third-party Switch 2 launch games (Street Fighter 6, Bravely Default) in terms of sales on other platforms.

"Mario Kart World (like with [The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]) was the game to buy for Switch 2 with an ~80% attach rate," Ahmad continued. "Even with CP2077 being the best-selling third-party game, its attach rate and the individual attach rate of all third party games was less than 5%."

"In other words, Switch 2 buyers were satisfied with Mario Kart World and legacy Switch 1 titles at launch, and did not buy any of the other Switch 2 launch games in high numbers. Game Key Cards are maybe the 4th or 5th factor for why third party games didn't sell well... The reality is that key cards aren't a major issue in the grand scheme of things outside of enthusiast circles."

Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse also chimed in on the game-key card debate, writing that Cyberpunk 2077 sold well "because it's an incredible version and a debut for a system that launched with few third party games, and does the best yet to show what the Switch 2 is capable of for an audience who may not have hardware to play it on before then." Douse also said the cartridge only "nominally helped."

As a rabid physical game collector, I am happy to hear Ahmad predict more full physical Switch 2 releases in the future "once Nintendo ramps up manufacturing for cartridges and lowers royalty fees."

For now, keep an eye on these upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 games. Hopefully at least some of them will launch on the actual cart.