Randy Pitchford said Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 would require a download, but it's worse than that – it's a game-key card

Everyone seems to hate Switch 2's game-key cards except for the publishers who keep producing them, and the latest game on the train is Borderlands 4. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford previously noted that physical copies of the looter shooter would require an additional download on Nintendo's platform, but now that pre-orders are live, we have full confirmation that it's coming via a game-key card.

Box art for Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 is emblazoned with the dreaded white bar warning of a game-key card inside the package, meaning that you're getting less of a "physical game" and more of a "plastic license key." Which, I guess in legal terms, is what a physical game is anyway, but it feels a lot worse when you're not even getting a local archive of the game's full launch version.

Once you plug the game-key card into your Switch 2, you'll need to grab a 40 GB to actually get the game on your system. "It's a big game," Pitchford said last week in his warning about the download, though 40 GB is a lot smaller than the 100 GB suggested by the game's PC system requirements.

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So if you had any hope that the backlash against game-key cards would convince third-party publishers to put their titles on real cartridges, well, it hasn't happened yet. Today's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase offered a lot of post-show disappointment for collectors when it became clear that everything from Octopath Traveler 0 to Persona 3 reload would be coming on game-key cards.

Nintendo has apparently been surveying players for their thoughts on game-key cards, and I'm sure the feedback has been thorough. Will it be enough to push third-party publishers back into full physical cartridges? That's tough to say, especially with rumors persisting of just how expensive it is to put out a full cart these days. But with publishers like CD Projekt warning others "do not underestimate the physical edition," we may yet see a turnaround.

Asked about concerns Switch 2 game-key cards could turn off players and third-party publishers, Nintendo president says the controversial cards were introduced since file sizes have gone up.