"I hate it": Former Assassin's Creed, Far Cry lead says that with Switch 2 game-key cards, "we're losing some of what made the business special"

News
By published

Even though game-key cards aren't popular with everyone, Alex Hutchinson thinks "Nintendo is going to get away with it"

Mario & Luigi: Brothership trailer still
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Not everyone is happy about the Switch 2's new game-key cards, including former Assassin's Creed and Far Cry developer Alex Hutchinson, who says "I hate it" and that it feels like "we're losing some of what made the business special."

Some upcoming Switch 2 games – despite coming with a physical card – won't actually be downloaded onto the card itself and playable out of the box like they are currently on the OG Switch. "Instead," Nintendo explains, "the game-key card is your 'key' to downloading the full game to your console via the internet," and once downloaded, the game is playable when you insert the card.

Speaking to VideoGamer in an interview, Hutchinson – who served as creative director on Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 4 before more recently becoming a co-founder of Raccoon Logic – speculates that "Nintendo is going to get away with it," even though he doesn't like it.

Expanding on this, Hutchinson says "I hate it," adding: "I just feel like it's getting away… we're losing some of what made the business special. Trading Game Boy cartridges at school, or, you know, DS for the modern audience. There's something nice about that."

Although he argues that people aren't "gonna say much" about the game-key cards, it's one of the bits of Nintendo Switch 2 news that's caused some of the biggest uproar from players and devs alike. For example, it's raised concerns about game preservation – Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios (famed for its retro remasters like The Thing and Doom 64) previously stated that "you would hope that a company that big, that has such a storied history, would take preservation a little more seriously."

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.